Munson Healthcare Manistee Hospital announced today that it will be closing its maternity unit on May 31. Manistee-area women will still be able to receive prenatal and postnatal care in Manistee, but maternity patients will give birth at Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital’s Family Birth Center.
“The decision to close the OB unit in Manistee was made after much deliberation,” said Manistee Hospital CEO James Barker. “Our goal is to ensure the long-term sustainability of the hospital while ensuring excellent, safe care for all patients.”
Barker said operating maternity services has long been challenging for rural hospitals. The number of births at Manistee Hospital has declined, coinciding with the aging of the area’s population.
“With the upcoming departure of one of our OB physicians, we needed to revisit the model for maternity care, and regionalizing the service made sense,” he said. “With fewer and fewer births, it has become difficult to maintain OB services. In March, we experienced an all-time low of only six births.”
Manistee Obstetrics and Gynecology clinicians Stephanie Fitzgerald, D.O., and Christina Bookheimer, F.N.P., will continue to provide pregnancy care, as well as a broad range of services for women of all ages.
Ronald Joanette, M.D., will transition to employment with Cadillac Hospital, where he will continue OB/GYN practice and attend births. Marian Fuller, M.D., announced earlier this year that she would be leaving Manistee Hospital at the end of May to pursue other career opportunities.
Pediatric care, from newborn to young adult, will continue to be offered by Manistee Hospital’s pediatricians and family medicine providers.
“I know moms will receive great care in Cadillac,” Barker said. In recent years, Cadillac Hospital has performed nearly twice as many births as Manistee Hospital. The Cadillac Family Birth Center was recently awarded a gold designation by the Michigan Alliance for Innovation for Maternal Health for its quality care.
The closure of the maternity unit and the relocation of two OB/GYN providers will result in the loss of about 15 total jobs in the hospital and the clinic.
“Our Human Resources team has met with the affected employees and provided information on job opportunities throughout the Munson Healthcare system,” Barker said. “We understand this change will be concerning to expectant families. Manistee Hospital staff will do everything they can to ease the transition and ensure women receive the care they need and have the best possible birth experience.”
Patients will be receiving additional information in the mail and may also call their provider office to discuss their care.