Baptist Nassau
Press Release
May 2, 2022
Hospital will continue its $8.5 million maternity center renovation during the brief interruption
Fernandina Beach, Fla., April 29, 2022 – Baptist Nassau is temporarily pausing its maternity services beginning May 31, 2022. The pause in service is a result of the obstetric (OB) medical practices’ decision to no longer provide hospital-based services in the area.
Women who are planning to deliver at Baptist Nassau up until May 31 will still be able to do so. Those delivering after May 31 may choose another Baptist Health hospital, or consult with their physician about alternative locations. Patients who need emergency maternity treatment can still receive care at Baptist Nassau’s emergency department.
Team members in the Labor & Delivery Center have accepted temporary assignments at other Baptist Health Labor & Delivery units or positions within the organization until maternity services can resume at Baptist Nassau. These caregivers will be able to return to Baptist Nassau’s Labor & Delivery Unit once the renovation is completed.
“We are committed to providing Women’s Health services in the local community and have an ‘all hands on deck’ approach in place,” said Hospital President Ed Hubel, FACHE. “We are actively recruiting OB physicians so maternity services at Baptist Nassau can resume as quickly as possible. In addition, we have invested $8.5 million to renovate our maternity suites with extra comforts for moms and families.”
The renovated maternity center will feature large private rooms where moms can labor, deliver and enjoy the post-partum experience with their infant. The suites will have a separate care station so the baby can room in with mom, spa-like bathrooms, mini-fridges, and large windows for natural light that overlook a beautiful atrium.
Baptist Nassau is part of the Baptist Health system, including Wolfson Children’s Hospital, enabling a smooth transition to the highest level of neonatal intensive care if needed.
“We are looking forward to welcoming moms to our new center as soon as we can,” said Hubel. “Women’s Health and OB is a priority services for Baptist Nassau and our community and we are working as quickly as possible to limit this temporary pause in service.”
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About Baptist Health
Baptist Health is a faith-based, mission-driven system in Northeast Florida comprised of Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville; Baptist Medical Center Beaches; Baptist Medical Center Nassau; Baptist Medical Center South and Wolfson Children’s Hospital – the region’s only children’s hospital. All Baptist Health hospitals have achieved Magnet™ status for excellence in patient care. Baptist Health is part of Coastal Community Health, a highly integrated regional hospital network focused on significant initiatives designed to enhance the quality and value of care provided to our contiguous communities. Baptist Health has the area’s only dedicated heart hospital; orthopedic institute; women’s services; neurological institute, including comprehensive neurosurgical services, a comprehensive stroke center and two primary stroke centers; a Bariatric Center of Excellence; a full range of psychology and psychiatry services; urgent care services; primary and specialty care physicians’ offices throughout Northeast Florida; and Baptist Home Health Care by BAYADA. The Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center is a regional destination for multidisciplinary cancer care, which is clinically integrated with the MD Anderson Cancer Center, the internationally renowned cancer treatment and research institution in Houston. For more details, visit baptistjax.com.
This has got to be some sort of sick joke, especially since the recent hospital expansion featured creating new maternity suites. Women in labor and immediately post partum don’t need ‘spa like bathrooms,’ they need to be in a familiar, local hospital with their own doctor. They do not need the stress of driving hours to get to an unfamiliar hospital and unknown people. If they need to stay for a few days, they need to be close enough for family to be able to visit.
Even during the height of Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans maternity hospital kept its doors open for the women (who were evacuated from the roof as soon as they were stable after giving birth.
Maybe instead of blithely telling women to ‘go elsewhere’ the hospital might consider shutting down ‘elective surgery’ during this second renovation. Labor and delivery are not elective.
The language of the first first paragraph is a bit cryptic, but it appears that there is some sort of disagreement between the local “medical practice” (doctors) and the hospital, resulting in the decision not to provide hospital based services.