Press Releases
07/20/2023
Attorney General Tong Urges Scrutiny of Proposed Closure of Johnson Memorial Hospital Labor and Delivery Services
(Hartford, CT) – In comments submitted this week to the Office of Health Strategy, Attorney General William Tong urged regulators to thoroughly review the community impact of the proposed closure of labor and delivery services at Johnson Memorial Hospital.In his comments, Attorney General Tong recognized the challenges presented by the hospital, including declining birth rate, limited financial resources, and inability to attract and retain professional staff. He argues, however, that the closure of L&D departments in rural areas (including closure of Windham Hospital’s department, the application to close Sharon Hospital’s department, and now Johnson Memorial Hospital) could be damaging to maternal and child health, especially if there are no other adequate, alternative solutions.
Attorney General Tong also recognized the logistical issues that implicate local residents’ accessibility to maternal health services. JMH’s 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment identified that some residents in the community “cannot afford a car … and [that] public transportation is not always dependable.” In the context of pregnant mothers, the closure of the JMH Labor & Delivery department will undoubtedly create more strain on transportation for the community’s low-income residents.
For example, the alternate Labor and Delivery locations proposed in JMH’s Certificate of Need application are Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford Hospital, and Manchester Memorial Hospital, all of which are an average of 25 to 30 miles away.
When it comes to maternal care, the line between “non- emergent” and “emergent” can dissolve very quickly and safeguards should be put in place so that families can be assured they will be taken care of in a timely fashion, Attorney General Tong states in his comments.
From the increased barriers to healthcare access, rising cost to families for emergency care and transportation services, and the potential exacerbation of maternal and infant outcomes, the ongoing proposals for closure of rural labor and delivery services around Connecticut are a growing concern. Rather than to remove a much-needed service, more emphasis should be placed on finding evidenced- based solutions to ensure the quality and safety of residents, Attorney General Tong states in his comments.
“In short, before requiring parents without transportation to travel 25+ miles to another labor and delivery unit, asking a mother in active labor to travel to travel 40 minutes or more for maternity services, perhaps paying thousands of dollars for emergency transport, or asking a family living paycheck to paycheck to pay thousands of dollars for out-of-network care, the applicant should demonstrate that there is a clear public need for the proposal,” Attorney General Tong states.
Intern Katherine Hall, MPH student, Yale School of Public Health class of 2024 assisted the Attorney General with this matter.
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