Baptist Health to shutter labor and delivery, obstetric services in Fort Smith

Little Rock-based Baptist Health is closing the labor and delivery operation and ending obstetric services at its Fort Smith hospital. The closure will result in the loss of around 40 jobs, and the move follows recent comments from Baptist Health officials about possible reduced services in Fort Smith.

The hospital system announced Monday (March 30) that labor and delivery and obstetrics services will end at the Fort Smith hospital on April 28.

“This decision was not made lightly; it follows a careful analysis of the program’s long-term operational sustainability amid significant and sustained challenges, including the rising costs of specialized care,” Baptist Health said in a statement. “Over the past five years, hospital deliveries dropped from 92 a month to approximately 20 per month currently. Our priority is to the 40 impacted employees as well as the expectant mothers currently in our care. Teams will work proactively with patients to ensure appropriate follow-up arrangements are made for a safe and coordinated transition so that no patient experiences a gap in care. While this is not the path we would have chosen, this decision intends to preserve the hospital’s overall health and sustain the core services our community relies on most.”

Ending the services in Fort Smith also follows Baptist Health’s March 3 announcement of its expansion of its obstetric emergency departments in Conway, Little Rock, and North Little Rock. The new service is designed to provide immediate care for expectant mothers at 20 or more week of gestation and their babies.

“Baptist Health believes that every woman deserves to have a safe and healthy pregnancy and childbirth,” Troy Wells, president and CEO of Baptist Health, said in the March 3 statement. “These Obstetric Emergency Departments will ensure that women have access to the specialized care they need, when they need it. They are an important step in our efforts to improve maternal health outcomes in Arkansas.”

Speculation continues about the future of other Baptist Health services in Fort Smith. Part of the concern stems from comments by a hospital system officials who said broad hospital operations may be curtailed with services limited to emergency room and surgery center operations.

Baptist Health has denied that it will end inpatient hospital services in Fort Smith, but has declined to specifically address what Baptist officials have said privately and publicly. Wells said Baptist Health will spend $20 million at the Fort Smith location “over the next few years,” and that the investment is part of a “transition of its Fort Smith campus.”

“We expect that some of the changes we make will be difficult,” Wells said in a statement. “These changes often will overshadow the positive investments we are making at the same time.”

There is the potential for Mercy Fort Smith, the only other hospital system in the city, to employ those who will lose jobs at Baptist Health. Mercy Fort Smith on April 1 is hosting a job fair.

“Mercy regularly hosts recruitment events to connect qualified health care professionals with opportunities in our region,” noted a statement from Mercy. “When we became aware of the challenges facing Baptist Health, our recruitment team acted quickly to organize an event that supports the community and helps keep experienced caregivers close to home.”