With changes around the state to birthing services, I wanted to express gratitude to our team at NMC who continue to deliver babies and provide obstetrics, gynecology and Inpatient Pediatric services.  I am writing today to share an update on our ongoing work to transform the model of that important care to preserve it in our community.

For background, sustaining OB/GYN services here and across Vermont is challenged by aging populations, declining birth rates, and reimbursements that do not cover costs. NMC has seen the retirements and departures of long-term OB/GYN providers, recruitment challenges, and increased reliance on per-diem and locum tenens (traveling) providers. This brought us to a point where NMC needed to explore alternative models of care.

To thoughtfully explore various solutions to preserve the service line, the NMC Board of Directors created an OB/GYN Task Force. It included members of the Board, the Medical Staff, and hospital leadership. They met over a period of months gathering input, reviewing the service line’s history, examining recruitment barriers, discussing clinical care models, and considering financial sustainability.

The task force ultimately recommended that NMC collaborate with a partner who would employ OB/GYN providers on the NMC campus. This model more sustainably allows for local access to pre-natal, post-natal, and GYN care and provides continuity in the delivery of babies and the other care on NMC’s Family Birth Center.

NMC is now in active discussions with possible partners in pursuit of this new model. The current conversations to create a long-term solution are encouraging. There are many details to be addressed, so a final resolution is not yet in hand – but the effort of all involved is positive. Given that preserving OB/GYN services here in Franklin County is also in Vermont’s best interest, we will also continue to be in touch with State regulators and officials on how the State can help support this transformation as well.

This public update is overdue, and I appreciate this opportunity to share it. The nurses, providers, and staff at NMC continue to provide birthing services, inpatient pediatrics, and OB/GYN care.  I am grateful to them for their persistence in that care – especially given the understandable uncertainty of model transformation. I know they join me in also being grateful to our patients for continuing to entrust us with their care, their health, and their babies. Thank you.

Jonathan Billings, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Northwestern Medical Center