CHULA VISTA, Calif. — Medical professionals rallied Saturday to protest the planned closure of Scripps Mercy Hospital maternity ward unit in Chula Vista.
Local workers worry the closure harms mothers and their babies in underserved areas of the South Bay by forcing them to go miles farther away for services.
However, Scripps says this will help the hospital meet the rising number of emergency room patients they’re seeing.
Dozens of physicians, nurses, advocates and patients, stood side by side to protest the closure of Scripps Mercy Hospital’s maternity ward unit in Chula Vista.
“We hope that they can reconsider taking away care from a really vulnerable population that needs the labor and delivery care," said physician, Christian Perez.
“Everybody will be at risk," added another concerned worker.
The protest took place at The Hotel Del Coronado where Scripps held their sold-out 50th Annual Ball that draws in donors every year.
Workers say they decided to protest at the site because they wanted to bring what they say is the risk and inequity of this closure to the attention of the donors.
“Right now what Scripps is doing is taking away care from the most vulnerable," said Perez.
Scripps says it's moving its labor and delivery operations in Chula Vista 12 miles north to Hilcrest to help alleviate Chula Vista's crowded emergency department.
In a statement to CBS 8, the hospital said:
"As a community health care provider, our goal at Scripps Health is to deliver high-quality health care services that best meet the needs of the communities we serve. Today at Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista, we need more beds for adults and seniors who are coming to us for emergency care, surgeries, cardiac care, and other services, and we expect that need to continue. Scripps Mercy Chula Vista has seen a sustained increase in emergency room visits and demand for beds for adult medical-surgical patients. To provide much-needed capacity and services for these patients, Scripps Health is moving forward with a proposal by Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista to move its obstetrics care to the Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego campus. Inpatient medical-surgical beds at Scripps Mercy Chula Vista are currently occupied at or beyond full licensed capacity, while only 14 % of South County mothers-to-be deliver at Scripps Mercy Chula Vista.
Repurposing the OB space to meet the increasing demands of patients coming in through the emergency room and for other inpatient needs will significantly decrease long wait times for these patients now and will make possible expansion of critically needed services such as cardiac care. At the same time, consolidating the OB services as well as the Rady Children’s NICU now at Chula Vista with those at Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego will ensure continued excellent care for new mothers and their babies.
The process for this transition includes a 90-day regulatory notice period, which began last month and is expected to run through approximately mid-June. Women with planned deliveries at Mercy Chula Vista in that timeframe will still be able to deliver there. We will maintain safe, high-quality emergency OB services at Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista both now and after the consolidation with Scripps Mercy San Diego is complete.
Scripps is currently working on the specific operational details of our emergency OB services plan at Chula Vista as we continue to move through the regulatory notice period. We will ensure emergency safe labor and delivery services with appropriate staffing, as well as safe handoffs and transfers after delivery, including neonatal transfers requiring intensive care with our partners at Rady Children’s Hospital. In addition, Scripps is providing full transparency to the California Department of Public Health and is completing all regulatory requirements related to this transition."
However workers worry the closure could have deadly consequences.
“As a physician in the South Bay I’m with these patients day in and day out. I fear there’s going to be a lot of confusion, a lot of maternal death, a lot of fetal … bad outcomes," said Perez.
“This closure means that those families are lost, they probably don’t even know where to go," said neonatal nurse Specialist, Gilda Ricodo.
Some believe the move only hurts people in underserved communities.
“I think this is being done particularly there because they feel like no one will ever say anything about it. I believe Scripps would never do this in a place like La Jolla," added Perez.
Last month, local doctors called on the California Department of Public Health to investigate.
Currently, there’s a bill by Assembly member Dr. Akilah Weber that aims to help maternity wards before they reach the point of closure. AB 1895 passed out of the Assembly Health Committee last week and moved to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
In a statement to CBS 8, she said:
“Many hospitals across the state have begun the process or have already closed their maternity wards, including here in San Diego county. We must implement policies to prevent the harms and the continued disparities that exacerbated by inadequate and inequitable access to maternal care. My bill, AB 1895, attempts to help maternity wards before they reach the point of closure by increasing notification to the state in the case that the state may be able to intervene. I’m happy to report the bill passed out of the Assembly Health Committee last week and moved to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.”
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