HealthFriday, November 13
Warren leaders push back on plan to close St. Joseph's labor and delivery unit
The Daily Youngstown team
If you're expecting in or near Warren, this one's for you. Mercy Health plans to close the labor and delivery unit at St. Joseph Warren Hospital, Warren's only hospital. Mercy says it's centralizing deliveries at St. Elizabeth Boardman, which has maternal-fetal medicine specialists and a Level III neonatal intensive care unit.
Not everyone's on board. Trumbull County commissioners filed a complaint opposing the closure. Warren Mayor Doug Franklin backs the city's effort to reverse it, though he calls it a business decision.
The unit could close Dec. 7
- Late Oct.Mercy Health announces it will integrate labor and delivery at Boardman.
- Dec. 2Final day patients can be admitted electively, according to Dr. Amine Abdul-Aal.
- Dec. 7The labor and delivery unit could close.
Source: Tribune Chronicle
- Longer drives to: Boardman, Farrell, Pa., and the Cleveland area
- St. Elizabeth Youngstown: closed its labor unit in the early 2000s
- Winter roads could add travel time, rally organizer Hollie Champ said
More than 50 elected officials, health care providers and others rallied Saturday against the closure. Abdul-Aal, one of two OB-GYNs at the hospital, called it "a public health emergency."
More than 50people at the rally against the closure
Elected officials, health care providers and others turned out for the Saturday afternoon rally.
Source: Tribune Chronicle
Sources: WFMJ, Tribune Chronicle, Business Journal Daily