‘Birth Local’ supporters ask County’s help after failure at Town level

FRONT ROYAL – The evening following the “Birth Local” call to the Front Royal Town Council to bring additional pressure to bear on Valley Health to maintain maternity and obstetrics services at a new Warren Memorial Hospital, seven people appeared at the Warren County Board of Supervisors meeting to repeat that call. See related story here 

At least three of those addressing the Public Concerns portion of the county board meeting, Kathy Clowes of Front Royal Pregnancy Center, Krista Adanitsch and Craig Bodah, addressed the town council the previous evening.  Michelle Matthiae took the “Birth Local” baton from co-founder Melanie Salins, who spoke before council the previous night.

Bodah was pointedly critical of the lack of support offered by the town’s elected officials the previous day, telling the supervisors, “Council squandered the best opportunity to get Valley Health to the table in a meaningful way.”

But it was two speakers who did not appear before council the previous night who set the tone Tuesday evening, Matthiae and Doctor John William Kerns.  Kerns opened the Public Concerns comments noting that as a 40-year resident of Warren County and a physician he was happy to see a new, modern hospital facility planned for the county.

However, referencing Valley Health’s meeting with representatives of the keep full maternity services local coalition last month he questioned the regional medical service company’s commitment to meaningful dialogue, even toward a compromise solution.

Of a suggestion that Valley Health partner with another private obstetrics care company to keep a specialized maternity facility open in the community after the planned WMH maternity unit closing, he said the Valley Health response was “it’s too difficult”.

Some fighting to maintain full women’s health and birthing care locally have wondered “too difficult” or “too inconvenient” to maintaining a competitive edge in regional medical care?

Noting he wasn’t trying “to scare anyone” Kerns presented written documentation of reports from the American Medical Association and The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists confirming the “Birth Local” contention of the negative impacts on women health care in general and delivery results specifically from the decreasing availability of hospital maternity services in rural communities.

Citing an AMA study referencing 4.9 million out-of-hospital births between 2004 and 2014 in rural communities losing local hospital obstetrics services, Doctor Kerns pointed to findings indicating corresponding rises in out-of hospital births and pre-term births, as well as births in hospitals without an obstetrics unit – one might guess those Emergency Room births Valley Health has promised will be available in the new, improved Warren Memorial Hospital.

Next, Amy Kerns called the ‘Birth Local’ meeting with Valley Health “disconcerting” – “Are they willing to sacrifice (an aspect of) the health of the community for their bottom line?” she asked.  She suggested removal of the obstetrics unit could impact the ability of midwives to operate in the community due to the necessity that midwives have OB unit backup available.

“Valley Health is thinking about the short term; we need to think long term, not just about women’s rights, but about quality of life,” Kerns told the supervisors in asking them to, “Find a way to help us reach a compromise with Valley Health.”

‘Birth Local’ co-founder Michelle Matthiae suggested that county officials consider long-term, negative impacts on the community, in addition to and beyond women’s health issues.

Matthiae wondered if long-term impacts on the community domino from the loss of localized birthing services.  She asked the supervisors to consider whether, first families then businesses would consider bypassing this community over the absence of local OB/maternity service.

“As a business owner myself I can hear the dollar signs walking away,” Matthiae concluded.

Kathy Clowes said there was already rising alarm among clients of the Front Royal Pregnancy Center about the potential closing of the local maternity unit as early as this May.  “The anxiety about getting to the hospital is growing.  Fourteen are due by May. They are anxious – ‘Where will I have to go? How will I get there,’ ” Clowes said of pregnancy center clients.

Alicia Perko pointed to complications in her own delivery successfully dealt with at Warren Memorial Hospital.  She estimated an additional hour to analyze and transport her to Winchester Medical Center had that been necessary.

Responding to the call for assistance from elected county officials, Board Chair Tony Carter noted that the board of supervisors sent a letter to Valley Health following a January meeting urging reconsideration of the OB unit decision – “So, I think we’ve been ahead of the curve on this.”

However, Carter pointed out that the county government is out of the loop as far as being able to delay or impact any approval processes necessary for the hospital construction project to proceed.  Rather, all the rezoning and permitting is in the hands of the town government, he indicated.

“So, I’m not sure what else we can do,” Carter told the “Birth Local” contingent.

That said, Carter suggested the county administrator resend the board’s original letter to again urge Valley Health “to be more responsive to the community” on this issue.

Unlike the previous evening’s scheduled public hearing on the hospital rezoning request before the town council, there were no Valley Health or WMH officials present to present their case for the service exclusion.

Between a rock and a hard place – the county government has no zoning or permitting leverage in the Valley Health hospital plan on what is now town land.