Rural maternal health at top of mind as UPMC Cole loses childbirth services | National

When UPMC Cole loses the program, the closest hospital to Coudersport that offers childbirth services would be across state lines, about 45 minutes away: Jones Memorial Hospital in Wellsville, NY.

The closest Pennsylvanian childbirth center is UPMC Wellsboro, just under an hour away from Coudersport, where UPMC Cole’s child delivery services will be transferred to. 

UPMC Cole’s obstetrics and gynecology doctor, Ethan Gable, MD, will be staying in Coudersport to continue offering prenatal, postnatal, and specialty services and will be expanding his role to also see patients and deliver babies at UPMC Wellsboro. 

“This decision was not made lightly. We know that bringing a child into the world is a deeply significant experience, and we are committed to making that experience as safe, comfortable, and supported as possible. By centralizing childbirth delivery at UPMC Wellsboro, we can strengthen our resources, enhance patient care, and expand outpatient women’s health services across the region, including in Coudersport,” Gable said on the matter.

The region’s rural maternal health issue

Expectant mothers in Coudersport are now set to be in the middle of a large region with limited resources for maternal health care. The issue is not unusual, let alone new, to the area.

Rural maternal health continues to be a recurring concern in northcentral Pa., and for good reason. A recent Georgetown University report showed rural residents already tend to have worse health outcomes, including higher maternal and infant mortality rates. State officials and local activists recently joined to combat similar issues in Clinton County.

UPMC has been on top of the issue of rural health shortages for quite some time. Most recently, they rolled out Mobile Health Centers for places that generally lack an adequate amount of health care locations.

The units are even specifically designated to focus on Tioga and Potter counties, where Coudersport lies within. However, the heal-on-wheels-mobiles are not equipped for child delivery.

Local representative responds

Rep. Martin Causer (R-Cameron/McKean/Potter) issued a statement yesterday in response to UPMC officials announcing that it would be eliminating childbirth delivery services from UPMC Cole.

Causer’s statement is as follows:

“This is another devastating health care blow to our region. UPMC executives clearly lack knowledge and understanding of the region they serve, and I told them as much. As a community, we must push back on this decision. We know all too well the needs of our community, and taking labor and delivery services even further away from our families is unacceptable.

“Here in the most rural part of Pennsylvania, our communities are spread out and we depend on facilities like UPMC Cole to provide access to basic services, including the ability to deliver a baby! To say that expectant mothers can simply travel to Wellsboro for their care demonstrates just how out of touch UPMC’s decisionmakers are with the reality of rural life.

“They need to put themselves in the shoes of an expectant mother whose labor comes on suddenly…and then has to travel over 90 minutes to Wellsboro, and that’s in good weather. What if she has no transportation? What if she has no family to help her? Our EMS system is in a state of crisis and is struggling to respond to calls in many communities. This decision puts the lives of mothers and babies at risk, and that is completely unacceptable.”