Laurel Regional Hospital is closing its maternity ward Oct. 10.
The closure affects 38 employees. Dimensions Healthcare System is working on job placement for them.
“We regret that [Maternal & Child Health] at Laurel Regional Hospital is the first inpatient unit to close,” hospital CEO John Spearman wrote in a letter to local elected officials. “However, we cannot ignore the difficult fact the among the hospital’s many sources of financial drain, obstetrical services has been a persistent problem.”
Laurel Mayor Craig A. Moe called it a "slap in the face to the entire community."
“How can you deny the citizens of Laurel and the northern Prince George’s County area a full-service hospital and never ask for any input?” he asked.
News4 reported last month Laurel Regional Hospital, which has served Prince George's County since 1978, would be downsized into a walk-in outpatient medical center offering emergency services and outpatient surgery, meaning hundreds of layoffs and reassignments.
The decision was made by Dimensions, a non-profit hospital system that serves the residents of Prince George's County and surrounding areas. The hospital has been losing millions of dollars for years, according to Dimensions Healthcare spokeswoman Erika Murray, and admissions to the hospital have been declining.
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The hospital closing will have a negative affect on the already "stressed" ambulance service in Prince George's County, according to Moe.
