Podcast discusses how rural hospital overcame obstetrics challenges

An American Hospital Association podcast explores how Kittitas Valley Healthcare preserved essential obstetric services after its three full-time OB/GYNs left. When they departed in 2022, the Ellensburg, Wash., hospital was the area’s only provider of comprehensive obstetric services, delivering 300-350 babies each year. Unable to hire replacements, KVH turned to an obstetric hospitalist group to outsource the service. This prevented their experienced labor and delivery nurses from leaving and allowed residents to deliver babies locally.