Legacy Mt. Hood Medical Center planning to close birth center next month

GRESHAM Ore. (KPTV) - Many in East County are devastated after learning Legacy’s Mt. Hood Medical Center birth center is slated to close next month.

Including Jessica O’Brien, whose two children were born at the birth center. During 2021′s historic ice storm, O’Brien was going into labor with her son Korben.

Luckily, the Mt. Hood birth center was down the road from her home in Troutdale, a short trip even when the dicey weather was a concern.

“The hospital was five minutes away, so it was convenient, it was safe, I didn’t have to travel that long,” she said.

Her daughter Kali was born there too and said that travel time to the hospital can mean life and death for parents and babies.

“The fact that I went to see the doctor, the fact that they told me we need to get you in right away because my blood pressure was high, I didn’t have to worry, you know? I didn’t have to worry if like ‘I’m going to have to drive 45 minutes to see the doctor!’ It was right there,” O’Brien said.

When she learned Legacy had plans to close the birth center, she was shocked.

“It’s just, for me, doesn’t seem fair. I feel really sad this is happening,” she said.

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The surrounding community is devastated too. Parents from Rhododendron to Damascus packed Biscuits Cafe in Gresham Thursday night to voice their concerns with Council President Sue Piazza and Legacy nurses and doctors, who are hoping to come up with a solution to prevent this.

Micah Wilson just had her baby Onyx at the birth center in December and was among the parents in the crowd hoping to use their voice to help.

“She was born so fast, like in two hours, and if my water had broken and I didn’t have this option, I don’t know if I could’ve gotten to a facility fast enough and checked in to deliver my baby,” Wilson said. “I think eliminating one more option for women we’re doing a disservice to women and families in our community.”

Legacy Health sent a statement about the closure, in part:

“For the last several months, we have been reviewing our operations across our system to identify areas for improvement. The Family Birth Center at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center stood out because it maintains a low volume of births with an unusually high-cost care model.

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After much discussion, planning, and working with our staff, we have made the difficult decision to stop delivering babies at Legacy Mount Hood’s Family Birth Center. The date for that change is tentatively set for Friday, March 17. Pregnant people who arrive at the emergency department will be transferred to Randall Children’s Hospital or other local hospitals.

We have more than 50 staff members at the Family Birth Center, and our plan is to ensure that each one of them has a home at Legacy. Our clinical leaders will be working with our health care partners to ensure our patients continue to receive safe, quality care close to home.”

Though some providers at the listening session said they’ve helped with more than 100 triage cases in November and December last year on top of births.

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