Bluffton and Peru Hospitals Ending Planned Inpatient Childbirth Services

5/13/2024

Bluffton and Peru, IN (May 14, 2024) - Bluffton Regional Medical Center and Dukes Memorial Hospital in Peru have begun work to wind down planned inpatient childbirth services in response to the limited number of deliveries at the hospitals. Planned inpatient labor and delivery services will no longer be provided after May 23 at Bluffton and after June 13 at Dukes. Three other Lutheran Health Network hospitals with childbirth programs are unaffected and will retain full availability for expectant mothers.

The number of births at the two hospitals has steadily declined over the past four years – a cumulative change of approximately 30% between 2020 and 2023. The Bluffton hospital is now averaging 11 or fewer deliveries per month and Dukes Memorial is averaging five, with these numbers expected to further decrease over time.

Obstetrics is a highly-specialized area of medicine. Fewer deliveries create challenges for hospitals to maintain the needed staffing and for providers to regularly apply their skills. The hospitals are taking action now in recognition of the medical needs of the OB patient population, particularly those with comorbidities such as diabetes and high-risk pregnancies.

“We carefully considered this decision and are acting in the best interest of our future patients as part of our commitment to deliver quality care,” said Debra Close, Chief Executive Officer at Dukes Memorial Hospital. “Fewer deliveries create challenges for hospitals to maintain staffing levels and for providers to regularly apply their skills and maintain clinical competencies. Patients can access safe, quality childbirth services at a number of hospitals in our region that are performing a higher number of deliveries each year which allows those hospitals to invest in the specialized equipment and the medical providers necessary to sustain a high-performing OB program.”

Hospital administrators are working with their obstetrical teams to support an orderly and safe transition of patients’ non-emergent deliveries to another hospital. Expectant mothers will continue to have options for receiving childbirth services at Lutheran Health Network’s Lutheran Hospital and Dupont Hospital in Fort Wayne and Lutheran Kosciusko Hospital in Warsaw, as well as childbirth programs managed by other hospitals in the region.

Even though planned inpatient childbirth services will end at Bluffton Regional Medical Center and Dukes Memorial Hospital, patients who are experiencing a medical emergency – obstetrics- related or otherwise – can be assured that these hospitals’ emergency departments have experienced teams trained to provide safe emergency medical care at all times.

“It has been a tremendous joy for our team to play a part in helping bring infants into the world,” said Julie Thompson, Chief Administrative Officer at Bluffton Regional Medical Center.

“However, the smaller numbers of births occurring in the region and at our hospital have made it difficult to secure and retain the specialized staff and providers necessary to provide this service. Our childbirth programs have been high performing through the years, but with the impact of fewer and fewer births here, we are taking this action now – always keeping what is best for our patients front and center.”

The declining birth rates in Bluffton and Peru mirror the national trend. According to the CDC National Center for Health Statistics, the 2023 general fertility rate in the United States decreased by 3% from 2022, reaching a historic low and marking the second consecutive year of decline, following a brief 1% increase from 2020 to 2021. From 2014 to 2020, the rate consistently decreased by 2% annually. These downward trends have even greater impact in small community hospitals.

All personnel who staff the hospitals’ childbirth units and obstetric practices will have the opportunity to transition to other positions across the Lutheran Health Network.

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