COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — CHI Health confirmed it is closing the labor and delivery unit at Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs, moving those services — along with its Level 2 NICU — to Omaha.
Hospital leaders say it has become too difficult to retain enough doctors and specialized staff in Council Bluffs.
The closure leaves Pottawattamie County with one remaining birthing location: Jennie Edmundson Hospital.
The change comes as Iowa already has the lowest rate of OB-GYNs per capita in the country. According to the American Medical Association, nearly 60% of Iowa counties have no place to give birth.
Jennie Sharrick, director of public health services at Firefly, says the closure raises concerns for lower-income families when she talked to KMTV in June.
"Because it is hard to access prenatal care. One of our birthing centers in Council Bluffs is closing and we are fortunate to have lots of birthing centers on the other side of the river but it is a challenge for families to make it there," Sharrick said.
She says many western Iowa families already travel long distances for care and that she knows of families from Monona County who drive roughly 60 miles to Omaha for maternity care.
CHI Health said the move is not connected to Medicaid cuts and that prenatal and women's health services will remain in Council Bluffs. Expectant mothers can keep their current doctors and deliver in Omaha, or switch to a new hospital system.
The closure takes effect at the end of August.
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