Since this article was published, Adventist Health announced that services will temporarily cease on June 6. Additionally, this article was updated to clarify that births at the hospital that started in the ER were subsequently moved to the hospital’s birthing center.
Expecting mothers in Tulare should plan to give birth in Visalia or Porterville — at least temporarily — as Adventist Health Tulare prepares to pause its obstetrics services.
The pause would be for an “unspecified duration,” according to a statement sent to Tulare Local Healthcare District board members by district CEO Randy Dodd. The district owns and leases the Adventist Health Tulare facilities to Adventist Health, but doesn’t control the hospital’s operations.
According to the internal statement, few mothers took advantage of the hospital’s birthing services, leading to financial losses: only six babies were delivered in February, starting in the hospital’s emergency department and moved over to the hospital’s birthing center.
“Adventist Health has announced today that Obstetrics (OB) services at AH Tulare will be temporarily paused for an unspecified duration,” Dodd’s Thursday statement said. “In recent years, Adventist Health has been subsidizing OB services at AH Tulare by approximately $6 million annually. During the month of February, for example, only six babies were delivered, primarily through the Emergency Department. This practice is deemed unsafe and financially unsustainable.”
While the memo states that births in Tulare were primarily delivered through the hospital’s emergency department, a subsequent statement by Adventist Health officials stated that the births started in the emergency department and were moved to the hospital’s birthing center.
Dodd told the Valley Voice that while he had not received any official notice in writing, he wanted to provide the board with as much advance notice as possible after he was informed of the pause by Adventist Health officials on Wednesday night.
Hospitals have closed maternity wards across the state in recent years, according to a November 2023 CalMatters report that found “at least 46 California hospitals have shut down or indefinitely suspended labor and delivery since 2012.”
District board member Jevon Price told the Voice that when he was campaigning door-to-door two years ago, several of the constituents he met expressed concern over a lack of obstetric services at the hospital, and wondered if the department was still open at all.
“People would tell me ‘I was born at the Tulare Hospital, and my children were born there, but now they can’t have their babies there,’” he said.
Price wonders where the babies Tulare are having are being born: he says that according to his own research, a city of Tulare’s population and demographic should be having an average of four babies a day.
“I think since the hospital re-opened almost six years ago they haven’t been able to recover and reach a normal number of births,” Price said.
They are likely being born at Kaweah Health in Visalia and at other area hospitals — according to Dodd’s memo, providers in Tulare are choosing to send patients to other hospitals.
“Jason Wells, President of Adventist Health Central California, has engaged in multiple discussions with Altura CEO Graciela Soto, but was unsuccessful in securing support from her Obstetricians. The absence of providers utilizing Adventist Health Tulare is the primary concern, and the pause in OB services will be contingent on Adventist Health’s ability to recruit new providers to the market,” his memo said.
The Adventist Health Tulare website still promotes the hospital’s birthing center, touting “12 private, spacious rooms,” supportive services, on-on-site C-section facilities, and an on-call OB-GYN available 24/7.
The hospital also celebrated its first baby of the new year on January 8 on social media, showing a happy family in the hospital’s facilities.
In the memo, Dodd maintained that Adventist was still committed to Tulare, and would introduce other new services.
“Adventist Health’s messaging will highlight the introduction of other services to the market, including the Cardiac Cath Lab and a renewed focus on Gastroenterology services,” the memo reads.
“Adventist Health reaffirms its commitment to Tulare, emphasizing that this decision is a strategic business move aimed at reducing ongoing operating losses until a sustainable program can be established. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns you may have.”