Thread: TN:Obstetric Unit's Closing Brings Protest, Outcry

Obstetric unit's closing brings protest, outcry
Hospital says services shifted
By Rachel Stults • THE TENNESSEAN • December 16, 2008

A small group of nurses and community members gathered outside Southern Hills Medical Center on Monday morning to protest the hospital's decision to discontinue labor and delivery services — a move they say will be particularly hard-felt in a community known for its high population of immigrants and patients who are uninsured or without prenatal care.

Saira Vanessa Cavarev, who works with the Hispanic community at a business that helps with taxes, translation and other issues, said she was surprised to hear that the hospital suspended its obstetrics services and is trying to spread the word among the immigrant community.

"Many people are used to going to that hospital, and not knowing there's no delivery, it would be kind of confusing and tragic because the other hospitals are very far from here and many Hispanic people don't know how to get to places and get that information," she said.

Drivers honked as they passed by Southern Hills Medical Center, which is owned by TriStar, a division of Hospital Corporation of America. In the rain, members of the National Nurses Organizing Committee held signs that read "Our Lives Are Worth More Than Your Profits" and "¿Porque HCA nos abandonó?" — why did HCA abandon us?

Obstetricians resign

Nearly 600 babies were delivered at Southern Hills Medical Center each year before the hospital suspended its obstetrics services Sept. 1.

The hospital's neo-natal intensive care unit is still open, hospital officials said, but with no babies being delivered in the hospital, it hasn't been used.

"Providing quality patient care is always our top priority," Thomas Ozburn, the hospital's chief executive officer, said in a statement issued Monday. "Southern Hills suspended obstetric services following the resignation of our largest group of obstetricians. The shift in this practice created significant challenges for us to ensure adequate physician coverage to maintain our high standards for quality obstetric care.

"We have coordinated with our employees, other TriStar Health System and community hospitals to ensure our area's mothers and newborns continue to have access to quality care."

Campaign under way

The nurses and healthcare activists hope that a new nearby Spanish-language billboard reading "Nosotros Merecemos" or "We Deserve" will raise awareness among residents to protest the hospital's decision and will force the facility to reopen the doors to its labor and delivery unit.

The group also is planning ongoing protests, advertising and mail to the local community, which they say is a medically underserved population already struggling with cutbacks in health-care resources.

"They've set up a very dangerous situation by closing the labor and delivery unit. It will increase births in the emergency room, and with a child that is critically ill there is nowhere for that child to go in that facility," said Kathy McGregor, a registered nurse and an organizer for the National Nurses Organizing Committee.

"We're concerned about somebody who has not received prenatal care, who doesn't speak English but sees a hospital sign and goes there to have a child and those services aren't available to them, so the patient's valuable time is lost."

Contact Rachel Stults at 615-726-8904 or rstults@tennessean.com.

In your voice
Read reactions to this story

KeePeace wrote:

The NNOC (shown here holding the signs) is the organized labor arm of the California Nurses Association. They are using this business decision, which was announced months ago, to get free publicity - I assure you that they couldn't care less whether Southern Hills offers obstetric care or not. What they do care about is whether they can get a bunch of nurses signatures on union cards before they head back to Kalifornia.

Nashvillians, take the lead of the weather, and give these unions a cold (wet!) shoulder!
12/16/2008 2:58:59 PM

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20081 ... /812160353

Maybe the hospital just got tired of giving free care to non-citizens.

The nurses and healthcare activists hope that a new nearby Spanish-language billboard reading "Nosotros Merecemos" or "We Deserve" will raise awareness among residents to protest the hospital's decision and will force the facility to reopen the doors to its labor and delivery unit.

Awwww boo hoo! The free ride is OVER! Pay up or keep your legs crossed!

"Providing quality patient care is always our top priority," Thomas Ozburn, the hospital's chief executive officer, said in a statement issued Monday. "Southern Hills suspended obstetric services following the resignation of our largest group of obstetricians. The shift in this practice created significant challenges for us to ensure adequate physician coverage to maintain our high standards for quality obstetric care.

The doctors could probably not get paid anymore for providing their services because the patients using the service were likely illegal invaders, who have become accustomed to free obstetric care in this country.

"¿Porque HCA nos abandonó?" — why did HCA abandon us?

Because your illegal deadbeats! That's why!

I wonder if the doctors got tired of "habla Espanol!!!!"

Originally Posted by ReggieMay

Maybe the hospital just got tired of giving free care to non-citizens.

YUP!!! It's a good way to take care of that issue. LOL
No more anchor babies now....

More hospitals need to follow this one. NO MORE FREE DELIVERIES TO ILLEGAL ALIENS. If you are an illegal alien, go to your home country and have your baby there. Hospitals are closing down from delivering babies of mothers who are in the country illegally, and it is putting the health of American citizens at risk. Get out and seek medical care from your own country and stop sponging off of us.

Will these people ever stop demanding more? Now that Obama's in they figure they have their Big Chance.

pack up your enchalada's... the free ride is OVER

It is unbelievable how they are so brazen about DEMANDING free Ob/GYN services...these doctors and hospitals can't afford to operate when they are forced to provide services to more non-paying patients than paying patients....and these arrogant illegals don't seem to get that...and have quite an inflated, false sense of entitlement to free health care at our expense.