Maternity Ward Issues
Following up last week’s news regarding the shuttering of the obstetrics ward at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, the state of New York has decided to fight back. Wanting to close the ward due to rising medical malpractice premiums regarding obstetrics, the state claims the hospital must provide proof that other hospitals in the area can handle the patient load before they can do so. Will they be able to?
New York Methodist Hospital and Maimonides Medical Center told The Brooklyn Paper that their obstetrics departments are already operating at capacity.
“We are not in a position to accommodate a higher volume of maternity cases,” said Eileen Tynion, a spokeswoman for Maimonides, the Borough Park hospital that delivered 7,207 newborns, more than any other hospital in the state last year.
There’s also no room at the inn at Park Slope’s Methodist Hospital.
“We just expanded to meet demand and we are already at capacity,” said Lyn Hill, a spokeswoman for the hospital, which delivered more than 5,000 babies last year.
Local officials are stepping in to voice their opinions on the matter as well.
State Sen. Marty Connor (D–Brooklyn Heights), whose colleagues could force state hearings over the plan to close the birthing wing, called on Continuum to provide honest numbers.
“The service is too important to the community to allow it to close,” he said.