Community calls for Penn Highlands to halt closures in Elk Co.

ST MARYS, Pa. (WTAJ) – When Penn Highlands Healthcare announced that it would be transitioning its labor and delivery services out of its hospital in Elk County back in February, the community began to push back, citing concerns of potential socio-economic decline of the area.

“The announced closure, proposed closure took us for shock,” Nate Higgins, president of St. Marys based tech company FreeFORM Technologies, said. “Elk County tells a real story because we always try to attract talent here. And one of the first things we say is it’s a great place to raise a family.”

However, Higgins said, losing labor and delivery services in Elk County could be a real hit for the community.

Under the current transition plan established by the healthcare system, women will still be able to receive services such as prenatal, postpartum and obstetrics at Penn Highlands Elk. However, when it’s time to deliver, soon-to-be moms can expect more than just a new baby. With the closure of labor and delivery services in St. Marys, women will have to drive at least 40 to 50 minutes to Penn Highlands DuBois.

Under some circumstances though, like those faced by Autumn Bonfardin in October 2022, there is no time for the commute, forcing them to consider other options – such as the emergency room which Bonfardin believes was not equipped to handle all maternal care concerns.

“When I had my miscarriage at the Penn Highlands Elk emergency room in October of 2022, I went in frantic and the woman checking me in told me that I needed to just ‘calm down’,” Bonfardin recounts. “Then when the doctor came into the room, he never introduced himself, sat on the counter and said ‘so you’re having a miscarriage, any questions?’ I just sat there in shock.”

Mary Eckert delivered her son, Myles, at Penn Highland DuBois on Feb. 21, but has concerns that the closure of the labor and delivery unit in neighboring Elk County will cause an influx of women seeking labor services that the hospital isn’t equipped to handle.

During the delivery of her son, Eckert suffered a placental abruption that ultimately resulted in her being placed on a catheter. She said that throughout the night following her son’s birth, no nurses told her that she needed to move around or came to assist her in getting out of bed and that the lack of care for hours has resulted in her bladder stretching out to the point that she is still not fully recovered.

“I have reported this to Penn Highlands to bring this and other concerns to their attention. They keep saying that they are sorry this happened but the unit got busy the night that I delivered,” Eckert said. “The reason I feel the need to share my story is because the maternity department at Dubois cannot keep up with Elk closing. I was left alone for 12 hours. If they didn’t get busy, I would have been checked on.”

Higgins said a shared frustration among the community is how little communication has been provided by the healthcare system whenever concerns have been raised. According to Higgins, there was no community outreach prior to the announced closures and the hospital has done little to explain the transition plan to the people it will impact the most.

“We as a community don’t know what’s happening,” Higgins said. “They brag a lot about the Facebook page and you look at their Facebook page, there’s not a lot of information on there.”

While communication has been a concern for the group, some members are also frustrated by the loss of these services when the local economy is able to support them.

“We have a really robust manufacturing sector that provides really robust commercial insurance, which props up our local hospital system and we’re really proud of that, but that’s not being reflected in our healthcare,” said Seth Higgins, president of Town and County Government Solutions in St. Marys.

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According to Nate Higgins, while Penn Highlands Elk is a profitable hospital, the money is being used support other hospitals in the system including Mon Valley and Connellsville, as well as the construction of a new hospital in State College, further commenting that this closure will result in a negative socio-economic impact.

“And we’re wondering why is everybody leaving the area? And at the same time they’re stripping us of services,” Higgins said.

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