BCMC Closes Obstetrics Department

The following is a press release from Bradley County Medical Center:

WARREN, Ark. (11/9/23) – The mission of Bradley County Medical Center is to provide superior care to every patient, every time. However, as the governing board of the hospital, and the Senior Leadership team of BCMC look forward to the long-term sustainability of our facility, the difficult decision to close the obstetrics (OB) program has been made.  

As emotional as this decision has been, a recent revenue analysis by Stroudwater & Associates shows that our OB program is no longer sustainable for the following reasons:

• Volumes and changing demographics - The number of deliveries at BCMC has continued to decline yearly.  While there is a nationwide decrease in births, there are newer facilities with specialized OB services to serve our region.

• Revenue loss - The OB department at BCMC is losing more than $1 million annually.  While our mission does not change, we must improve our financial position to grow and provide service lines that offer the most benefit to our community.

“We have gone over the numbers and made every effort to avoid this decision,” stated Leslie Huitt, BCMC CEO/CFO.  “As a critical access hospital, we had hoped to be the exception in providing OB services. But it is now time to swallow this bitter pill and move forward in our plans to grow and accommodate the healthcare needs of community.”

Moving forward, the BCMC Rural Health Clinic is not closing and will continue to provide all family care services to its patients.  We are also accepting new patients currently.

• Effective immediately, the Rural Health Clinic will be helping any existing OB patients in transitioning their care to the provider of their choice.  We will work to ensure this is as seamless as possible.

• Any OB patients who present to the BCMC Emergency Room will be treated in the ER and transferred as safety permits to another facility.

While we understand that the closure of obstetrics at BCMC after all these years is difficult, we are hopeful for what the future of our hospital and the healthcare landscape in Bradley County can become.