THURSDAY: Pregnant patients being denied care call on Beth Israel Lahey Health to prioritize health of mothers and babies
Patients will be joined by the Massachusetts Nurses Association and concerned community members at press conference outside hospital entrance
WHO:
Pregnant patients of the North Shore Birth Center
Massachusetts Nurses Association
Campaign to Save the North Shore Birth Center
WHERE:
Main entrance to Beverly Hospital
85 Herrick Street, Beverly
WHEN:
Thursday, August 25
11AM
WHAT:
At a press conference, pregnant patients will detail how they are being denied care at the North Shore Birth Center and the detrimental impact Beverly Hospital’s actions have had on the health of their families and their ability to access high-quality prenatal care.
On August 2, Beth Israel Lahey Health agreed to take no further action toward the closure of the birth center for the next 90 days. The health system has since made no effort to recruit midwives or encourage current midwives (who they had previously told to look for new jobs) to stay. Most critically, BILH has made no effort to address unacceptable gaps in care for pregnant patients, many in their third trimesters.
The North Shore Birth Center is the only remaining free-standing, midwifery-led birth center in Eastern Massachusetts. It has provided vital maternity care and women’s health services to the region for more than 40 years, supporting more than 10,000 births. Its closure is opposed by thousands of community members, maternal health advocates, and local, state and federal elected officials. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, and Rep. Seth Moulton, said closing the center “will deny women a choice in birth options and reproductive care, pushing patients away from more affordable, high-quality care into more expensive, hospital-based care.”
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