BURLINGTON — The Coffey Health System Board of Trustees has voted to cease obstetrics care at Coffey County Hospital, according to a report from the health system’s marketing department published in the Coffey County Republican.
Labor and delivery services incurred a $1.3 million annual loss for the health system in 2024, the report noted. In the last five years, the hospital averaged 65 births per year. Projections for 2025 are less than half that.
The change aggravates a growing maternity desert in southeast Kansas. Only Neosho, Labette, Montgomery and Crawford counties have hospitals with obstetrics services.
While obstetrics has historically lost money, the hospital had maintained it as a service to the community; however, declining numbers forced the change. The report also cited an increase in high-risk pregnancies, which result in more deliveries going to urban hospitals equipped to handle the needs of the mom and baby. Fewer deliveries had made recruiting qualified obstetrics nurses increasingly difficult.
“This is one of the toughest decisions a small, rural hospital can face,” said Chief Executive Officer Stacy Augstyn. “It certainly isn’t something anyone is happy about, but the reality is that declining births would leave this service unsustainable. This decision is not a reflection of our obstetrics nurses or providers; on the contrary, they provide exceptional services and care immensely about the expectant moms and newborns in our care.”
The report said that the health system’s executive finance committee recommended the closure during the previous month’s meeting. The board tabled the discussion to allow the hospital’s executive leadership team to develop a closure plan that meets regulatory requirements and helps families transfer their care to other hospitals. Hospital leadership also informed staff of the potential action and discussion options with the county commission during a March 10 meeting. With a plan in place and a commitment to continue care for all third-trimester moms, the board voted 8-1 to cease labor and delivery services effective June 30, 2025.
Becker’s Hospital Review reports that declining births and rising costs led 200 hospitals in rural areas across the U.S. to shut down delivery services in the last decade. This trend leaves more than half of all rural U.S. counties without hospital obstetric services.
Kansas ranks 11th nationally with the highest percentage of rural hospitals lacking obstetrics, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. Sixty-two of the state’s rural hospitals do not have obstetrics services.
