Rural healthcare leaders discuss how to sustain maternal care

In the first segment of a three-part American Hospital Association podcast series, rural hospital leaders discuss how they are sustaining their maternal care units despite workforce shortages, financial pressures and declining birth volumes. Rural hospital leaders in upstate New York, Kansas and Kentucky say they and their boards prioritize maternity care and allocate funding to ensure safe staffing, resources and equipment. Leaders emphasize the importance of providing comprehensive women’s healthcare, including preventative, behavioral health and chronic disease management. Women who receive nearby obstetrics care make their local hospital their family’s medical home, rather than moving away from the area. Hospital leaders also advocate for reimbursement reform. Separately, the AHA shared resources for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Awareness Month.