Southcoast Health announced on August 29 that the maternity unit at Tobey Hospital will be permanently closed after December 31, 2019 as part of what was described in a press release as an “innovative plan for maternity [and] newborn services.”

Nurses at Tobey Hospital and St. Luke’s strongly oppose the change, and argue that the change is bad for community health as nurses at St. Luke’s have been struggling to “provide safe, quality care” following the influx of patients after the closure of the maternity unit at Morton Hospital in Taunton.

About 375 mothers give birth at Tobey Hospital each year, and Southcoast says that number has decreased by 22 percent since 2013. Additionally, in 2018, 27 percent of the births at Tobey were by mothers from the greater New Bedford area.

Mothers planning to give birth at Tobey in 2020 will be contacted and given the option of delivering at St. Luke’s in New Bedford or at Charlton Memorial in Fall River.

Some current Ob/Gyn services at Tobey, including childbirth education and breastfeeding support groups, will remain. 

The release from the hospital claims that closing the maternity ward will “ensure the success and sustainability of Tobey Hospital.” Employees of the unit will work with human resources to “determine opportunities” at St. Luke’s and Charlton Memorial.

While closing the maternity ward at Tobey, SouthCoast is expanding the unit at St. Luke’s to a full floor. St. Luke’s sees an average of 1,500 births each year, and Southcoast recently invested $14 million to expand the maternity ward there.