Mount Desert Island Hospital announced today that it will be closing its labor and delivery unit July 1.
President and CEO Christina Maguire said the hospital made the decision in light of a decline in births at the hospital. And there were concerns about staff assisting in enough births to maintain their skills.
"I need to think about where — at what point can I not ensure that everybody who needs to take care and participate in this delivery service is able to get that kind of exposure to deliveries," she said. "And that's really, those kinds of things that keep you up at night."
The announcement comes after a string of hospital obstetrics closures around the state, including at York Hospital in York, Northern Maine Medical Hospital in Fort Kent, Calais Community Hospital in Calais, Downeast Community Hospital in Machias and Waldo Hospital in Belfast.
The nearest hospital with a labor and delivery unit is Northern Light Maine Coast Hospital in Ellsworth.
Last year, just over 30 babies were born at the hospital, compared with around 100 births a decade ago. In 2024, had the lowest delivery rate in the state among hospitals that labor services.
Maguire said that the move was a difficult decision, but other maternal health services at the hospital will not be affected.
"What we want them to know is that we are going to do everything we possibly can within our power to make sure that they have an exceptional experience for the birth of their child, and that we will make sure as we that we help navigate that," she said.
Maguire said the decision was focused on the low birth numbers, and not related to the Emergency Room expansion- which has been underway for seven years, and is fully paid for by donors and grants.
"And so it's not that we are making a decision to fund an expansion effort at the at the cost of maternal health or labor and delivery — our decision was truly around the safety and the ongoing ability to keep skill-based competencies in place," she said.
But the union for nurses as the hospital is condemning the closure, saying it is short-sighted and will hurt families in the area.
Janice Horton is a 32-year veteran nurse in the obstetrics department.
"This devastating, short-sighted decision was made by administrators without any input from or dialogue with nurses and caregivers," Horton said. "Nurses are deeply concerned about the permanent, damaging effects this decision will have on families (Mount Desert Island Hospital) is supposed to serve in Bar Harbor and surrounding towns and outer islands."
The nurses are encouraging residents to attend a community meeting Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Mount Desert Island YWCA. And the hospital will hold a town hall meeting at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 3, at Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor.
