Approximately 36 expecting mothers will feel the impact of Marshfield Clinic Health System’s decision to temporarily suspend delivery and labor services in Rice Lake, a decision laid partially at the feet of challenges to covering anesthesia services.
Marshfield Clinic announced April 30 that labor and delivery services at Marshfield Medical Center-Rice Lake would be suspended for a month or two due to staffing limitations while resources were diverted to Eau Claire.
Dr. Brandon Parkhurst, Marshfield Clinic’s vice president of medical affairs for the Rice Lake region, explained that the decision came in the wake of Hospital Sisters Health System’s announcement that it would close Eau Claire’s HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital.
“In Eau Claire we immediately recognized that we have this 12-bed unit that had been licensed during COVID that was currently not staffed,” Parkhurst said. “We had a 12-bed unit we could make changes to and begin to immediately cover the gap for the approximately 900 pregnant moms in Eau Claire that had been displaced because of the hospital closure.”
The unit, which opened in late March, can accommodate an additional 550 births a year, Marshfield Clinic said in a news release. According to Parkhurst, the Wisconsin Hospital Association reported there were 341 deliveries in 2021 in Rice Lake, and internal numbers showed that 328 babies were born there in 2023.
Marshfield Clinic committed to expanding women’s health services in Eau Claire to care for patients left behind by the closure of western Wisconsin HSHS hospitals, Parkhurst said. But in doing so it placed pressure on the labor delivery program’s three critical components — obstetrics, anesthesia and pediatrics.
Parkhurst said the primary reason for the diversion from Rice Lake to Eau Claire was the challenges surrounding anesthesia coverage. Anesthesiologists are needed not only for surgical Cesarian sections, but for vaginal deliveries when the mother seeks pain relief, such as via an epidural.
The Association of American Colleges in 2021 reported that 46.7% of physicians in the U.S. are 55 or older across all specialties, but in anesthesia the percentage was 56.9%, Parkhurst said. Furthermore, Becker’s Physician Leadership said 2,872 doctors left the field of anesthesiology in 2021-22, while the National Resident Matching Program reported that only 1,609 graduated from U.S. residency programs. The deficit is leading to a widespread shortage of anesthesiologists across the nation.
But Parkhurst said despite the challenges, Marshfield Clinic intends for the diversion from Rice Lake to Eau Claire to be temporary.
“In the middle of March we fairly dramatically altered our approach to anesthesia recruiting and sourcing in an effort to shore up that challenge so we can restore these services fully,” he said.
In the meantime, approximately 36 Rice Lake-area moms-to-be who receive health care through Marshfield Clinic are expected to deliver in May or June — but no longer in Rice Lake. Now they must travel for about one hour to Eau Claire, and Parkhurst said OB-GYNs in both cities have been collaborating to coordinate care.
Lack of service throughout county
Marshfield Medical Center-Rice Lake is not the first Barron County hospital that has seen delivery and labor services moved to Eau Claire, although Mayo Clinic Health System’s decision was permanent.
Mayo Clinic-Northland in Barron ended labor and delivery services in August 2022, and patients were transitioned to Mayo’s hospital in Eau Claire. When it made its announcement, Mayo said it had been “aggressively recruiting” OB-GYN staff to fill vacant positions for two years.
Barron County emergency rooms, however, are equipped to handle emergency deliveries, including at Cumberland Healthcare.
“Cumberland Healthcare no longer provides labor and delivery services,” said Kelly Quick-Hanson, marketing director. “However, should an emergent situation arise, our Emergency Department is fully equipped to handle emergent deliveries. If an emergent delivery does occur in our emergency department, we are coordinating care with other area facilities that provide OB services for post-delivery or transport if delivery is not imminent.”
Outside of Barron County, expecting mothers also can turn to hospitals in Amery, Duluth, St. Croix Falls and Hayward for labor and delivery services.
“Our facility and staff is equipped to fill the need for expecting mothers where Hayward is now their closest option,” said Paige Rother of Tamarack Health in Hayward.
Critical response
Both of Barron County’s representatives to the state legislature expressed concerns over Marshfield Clinic’s decision but acknowledged the challenges that face health care systems as they try to entice workers to practice in rural Wisconsin.
In a news release, Assembly Rep. Dave Armstrong, R- Rice Lake, said he recognizes the challenges that Marshfield and Mayo have in recruiting and retaining OB-GYNs and other professionals, but said decisions such as even a temporary pause in services can lead to a “vicious cycle” and cause further harm.
“While I sincerely hope Marshfield will stand by its plan to resume its Rice Lake birth operations in a month or two, my fear is that birth services will never return, at least to the same level as before,” Armstrong said. “Even a temporary suspension sends a bad sign not just to families already living in Barron County, but to prospective residents and businesses. If people think twice about moving to rural areas with unreliable access to essential health services, that in turn hurts the recruitment and retention of health professionals.”
State Sen. Romaine Robert Quinn, R-Cameron, said he was concerned about the news and the added stress it will have on expecting mothers.
“This suspension of service is one example where healthcare worker recruitment and retention can be the difference in whether certain services remain available,” Quinn said in his news release. “Workforce challenges in healthcare are especially severe in rural areas of the state, which is why earlier this year I introduced legislation to expand and enhance graduate medical education programs in rural hospitals to train more physicians.”
The bill became law last March and allows more medical students to complete their residency in Wisconsin, Quinn said, where they are then likely to remain to practice.
Parkhurst emphasized that the diversion is intended to be temporary, and Marshfield Clinic will update patients and communities as the situation evolves.
“I appreciate the understanding from our community and patients,” Parkfurst said. “We all understand the significance of this diversion and the impact it has on patients. I am absolutely sorry for that impact.”
Wisconsin Public Radio contributed to this report.
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