Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, Vt., has partnered with Maitri Health Care, an independent OB-GYN practice based in South Burlington, Vt., to maintain local obstetric and gynecologic services, according to a hospital news release published April 21 by the St. Albans Messenger.
The partnership comes as the rural hospital faces declining birth volumes, rising costs and persistent staffing challenges. Annual births at the hospital have fallen from more than 500 to about 300, according to the hospital.
Under the agreement, Maitri clinicians will begin staffing the hospital’s OB-GYN clinic and supporting deliveries, with a longer-term plan for the practice to assume full operations through a private practice model on the hospital’s campus, according to the release.
Hospital leaders said the approach is intended to stabilize services that have relied on temporary physicians and faced recruitment challenges. The model is expected to reduce reliance on locum tenens providers while maintaining access to care in the community, where the service has operated at a financial loss, according to VTDigger.
Despite the transition, Northwestern Medical Center said its Family Birth Center and inpatient pediatrics program will remain in place.
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