DuBOIS — Expectant parents are invited to an informal gathering at Penn Highlands DuBois to meet the hospital’s labor and delivery providers.
The event will be from 5 to 6 p.m. March 18 at Penn Highlands Life’s Journey OB/GYN on the second floor of the Center of Excellence, 123 Hospital Ave.
Last month, Penn Highlands announced that labor and delivery services at Penn Highlands Elk would be moved to DuBois as of May 1 in a move designed to “offer a higher level of care for mothers and newborns,” officials said.
The distance between the two is 32 miles, or 50 minutes along U.S. Route 219, according to Google Maps.
In 2019, Upper Allegheny Health System transitioned maternity services from Bradford Regional Medical Center to Olean (N.Y.) General Hospital, citing a decreasing birth rate and difficulty recruiting physicians. The American Hospital Association said at least 89 obstetrics units closed in rural hospitals between 2015 and 2019; more have closed since.
According to officials with Penn Highlands, PH Elk will continue to offer prenatal and postpartum care, exams, testing, ultrasounds and prenatal classes. Mothers-to-be will continue to see their physician or provider at Penn Highlands Women’s Care in St. Marys throughout their pregnancy. The only difference is that they will deliver their babies at the Maternal and Child Center at Penn Highlands DuBois. All non-labor and delivery healthcare services will still be offered at Penn Highlands Elk.
