Ellen Ben-Naim of First Born Program of Los AlamosInformation and misinformation have been circulating on social media concerning the status of the OB Department at Los Alamos Medical Center. Most recently there have been comments posted that the OB Department will close down Jan. 1, 2020.
Program Manager Ellen Ben-Naim of First Born Program of Los Alamos shared her concerns Friday afternoon with the Los Alamos Daily Post.
“I am extremely concerned on many levels about the possibility of losing Labor and Delivery and OB/Gyn services in Los Alamos,” Ben-Naim said. “We know that the further women have to travel for care, the likelihood of negative health outcomes for mothers and babies increases. This also bodes poorly on LANL and Los Alamos Public School’s efforts to recruit and retain their workforce. So, it’s an economic development issue as well.”
LAMC CEO John Whiteside
LAMC CEO John Whiteside also spoke Friday with the Los Alamos Daily Post to clarify the status of the OB Department at his hospital.
“We are open 24/7 for deliveries and we have OB coverage at least through April 1 and are actively recruiting for OB providers and nurses and that is an ongoing effort,” Whiteside said, adding that LAMC’s commitment to women’s services remains strong.
“We recently purchased a state of the art GE Senographe Pristina 3D mammography machine,” he said. “Yes, we are experiencing a decline in OB volume in our community and struggling to recruit long-term caregivers. That’s no secret. But these are issues that so many other organizations are challenged with nationwide. This is not exclusive to Los Alamos.”
Whiteside said LAMC is committed to providing the services the community needs and is always evaluating what those needs are.
“In this case, we’ve implemented a short-term solution for OB coverage to ensure that expecting mothers in our community can count on us,” he said. “Longer-term, we’re evaluating what’s in the best interest of our community and what we can support.”
Whiteside explained that the reality is, less and less people are using Los Alamos for OB services, which means LAMC can’t provide a high-quality program, and attract top talent, with low utilization.
“We’re not willing to compromise quality for our patients,” he said. “So, if the community wants a full-service OB program, the community needs to support our hospital. This is an important discussion, and we’re committed to being transparent and maintaining an open dialogue with the community.”