BULLHEAD CITY – Western Arizona Regional Medical Center (WARMC) is discontinuing obstetrical and newborn services and will close its labor and delivery unit, effective April 30. After this date, the hospital will no longer provide inpatient labor and delivery services.
Expectant mothers will continue to have local options for receiving childbirth services at the Mohave County hospitals located in Fort Mohave, Lake Havasu City and Kingman. They will work with their obstetricians and medical staff to support an orderly transition of their patients’ non-emergent deliveries to another hospital.
Patients who are experiencing a medical emergency – obstetrics-related or otherwise – can be assured that WARMC’s emergency department has an experienced team trained to provide safe emergency medical care. Gynecological and other women’s health services will continue to be provided at WARMC.
“This has been a very difficult decision. However, fewer births are occurring at WARMC and within the local market and this coincides with the increasing average age of our population,” said WARMC CEO, Michael Stenger.
Over the past decade, the tri-state area has experienced a 30 percent decrease in births and even fewer are projected this year. Eight Arizona hospitals are delivering less than 600 births annually and four of them are in Mohave County. Consolidating deliveries among a smaller number of hospitals creates an opportunity to strengthen the quality of care for our area’s birthing families.
“We will continue applying our resources to enhance and expand the clinical services that are increasingly needed by our aging population such as orthopedic surgery, spine surgery, vascular surgery, podiatric surgery and cardiac services,” Stenger said. “Our recruitment of skilled specialist physicians to join our medical staff and investments for these vital, higher-acuity services means more patients have been able to stay in Bullhead City for their care rather than being transferred outside the community and away from their families.”
All nurses and personnel who staff the labor and delivery unit and nursery are valued members of our team and they will have the opportunity to transfer into other open positions at Western Arizona Regional Medical Center.
WARMC has been fully committed to serving the healthcare needs of the tri-state area since 1984 and will continue to do so well into the future.
