Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

2 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

3 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

3 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

3 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

3 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

3 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

4 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

4 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

4 days ago
Tulare County Loses its Birthing Center. Where Can Expectant Mothers Go?
Edward Smith updated website photo 2024
By Edward Smith
Published 1 year ago on
June 6, 2024

Adventist Health Tulare closed its maternity ward Thursday, June 6, 2024. (GV Wire Composite/Paul Marshall)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Tulare County’s expectant mothers have one less place to receive maternity care as of Thursday.

A drop in Tulare County’s birth rate and the number of planned births at Adventist Health Tulare led the decision to close the maternity ward, a hospital official said.

That means closing labor and delivery, maternity care, and other obstetrics services. The hospital will still provide births through the emergency department.

After the close, mothers wanting to deliver their baby in a hospital will have to go to Visalia, Reedley, or Hanford. Adventist hopes to be able to reopen again through local partnerships with health advocacy groups and clinics, said Kiyoshi Tomono, partnership and well-being executive at Adventist Health Central California Network.

But closing the department follows a trend in California of maternity wards shutting down because of lack of demand.

“Hospital births have declined by 60 percent over the past year at Adventist Health Tulare and the hospital can no longer sustain these services,” said Tomono. “This decline in births at Adventist Health Tulare aligns with a significant drop in the birth rate in Tulare County and a significant decrease in births in California.”

More Tulare Mothers Relying on Emergency Department

After the hospital closed in 2017, OBGYNs got in the habit of not sending their patients to then-Tulare Regional Medical Center, said Heather Van Housen, patient care executive for the Central California Network of Adventist Health.

Births at the hospital came nearly all from mothers going into the emergency department, which Van Housen said is less safe than having a planned birth.

In 2022, the hospital provided services for 20 births. By 2024, that number decreased to eight.

“If you want to do things and do things well, you need to do more than five a month, said Van Housen, who added that the ideal number was closer to 50.

The hospital network explored a partnership with health care clinic Altura Centers for Health to work with OBGYN doctors in connecting them and their patients with Adventist Health. Tomono said reviews done on the two doctors — one in 2022 and one in 2023 — determined they did not meet the hospital’s criteria. The hospital is reviewing that decision, Tomono said.

“We are committed to working diligently to resume obstetrics services in Tulare in the future,” Tomono said.

Maternity Wards Closing All Over California

Tulare is hardly the only hospital to close its maternity ward. Matthew Beehler, chief strategy officer with American Advanced Management, the health system taking over operations for Madera Community Hospital, said the company is holding off opening the maternity ward at that hospital because of few planned births.

In the past decade, nearly 50 California hospitals have closed maternity wards, CalMatters reported. Half of those closings came in the last four years.

The trend follows in Florida where the state’s Legislature this year enacted a law allowing doctors to deliver babies via cesarean section outside of hospitals, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The idea was to lower costs and give pregnant women a “homier birthing atmosphere.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno DUI Driver Slams Into CHP Motorcycle, Tow Truck on Highway 99

DON'T MISS

Russia Downs 120 Ukrainian Drones Overnight, Defense Ministry Says

DON'T MISS

Israel Sends Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Talks Ahead of Netanyahu Trip to US

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

DON'T MISS

Musk Announces Forming of ‘America Party’ in Further Break From Trump

DON'T MISS

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 59, Including 21 Children

DON'T MISS

California’s Politics Drifts Right While New York’s Leans Left

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

UP NEXT

Russia Downs 120 Ukrainian Drones Overnight, Defense Ministry Says

UP NEXT

Israel Sends Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Talks Ahead of Netanyahu Trip to US

UP NEXT

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

UP NEXT

Musk Announces Forming of ‘America Party’ in Further Break From Trump

UP NEXT

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 59, Including 21 Children

UP NEXT

California’s Politics Drifts Right While New York’s Leans Left

UP NEXT

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

UP NEXT

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

UP NEXT

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

Edward Smith,
Multimedia Journalist
Edward Smith began reporting for GV Wire in May 2023. His reporting career began at Fresno City College, graduating with an associate degree in journalism. After leaving school he spent the next six years with The Business Journal, doing research for the publication as well as covering the restaurant industry. Soon after, he took on real estate and agriculture beats, winning multiple awards at the local, state and national level. You can contact Edward at 559-440-8372 or at Edward.Smith@gvwire.com.

Trump Calls Musk’s Formation of New Party “Ridiculous” and Confusing

5 hours ago

Fresno DUI Driver Slams Into CHP Motorcycle, Tow Truck on Highway 99

11 hours ago

Russia Downs 120 Ukrainian Drones Overnight, Defense Ministry Says

12 hours ago

Israel Sends Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Talks Ahead of Netanyahu Trip to US

12 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

12 hours ago

Musk Announces Forming of ‘America Party’ in Further Break From Trump

12 hours ago

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 59, Including 21 Children

12 hours ago

California’s Politics Drifts Right While New York’s Leans Left

13 hours ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

2 days ago

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

2 days ago

TikTok Building New Version of App Ahead of Expected US Sale, the Information Reports

TikTok is building a new version of its app for users in the United States ahead of a planned sale of the app to a group of investors, The I...

5 hours ago

A logo is displayed over a door at the U.S. headquarters of the social media company TikTok in Culver City, California, U.S. January 17, 2025. (Reuters File)
5 hours ago

TikTok Building New Version of App Ahead of Expected US Sale, the Information Reports

Boxes of aid are stacked as Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it has commenced operations to begin distribution of aid, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 26, 2025. (Reuters File)
5 hours ago

Hamas Government Office Rejects US Accusation of Involvement in Gaza Aid Site Attack

A volunteer searches for flood victims after deadly flooding in Kerr County, Texas, U.S., July 6, 2025. REUTERS/Sergio Flores
5 hours ago

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 78, Trump Plans Visit

Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk listens as US President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington, DC, U.S. on November 13, 2024. (Reuters File)
5 hours ago

Trump Calls Musk’s Formation of New Party “Ridiculous” and Confusing

A 22-year-old suspected DUI driver crashed into a parked CHP motorcycle and tow truck on Highway 99 near Fresno, narrowly missing an officer and bystanders, CHP said Saturday, July 5, 2025. (CHP)
11 hours ago

Fresno DUI Driver Slams Into CHP Motorcycle, Tow Truck on Highway 99

A service member of a drone unit of the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo of the Ukrainian Armed Forces controls a heavy combat drone while it flies over positions of Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk Region, Ukraine June 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
12 hours ago

Russia Downs 120 Ukrainian Drones Overnight, Defense Ministry Says

An Israeli tank maneuvers in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 6, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
12 hours ago

Israel Sends Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Talks Ahead of Netanyahu Trip to US

The Madre Fire near New Cuyama has burned nearly 80,000 acres as of Sunday, July 6, 2025, morning, prompting widespread evacuation orders and warnings across three counties. (CalFire)
12 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend