Scripps Health plans to close its maternity ward at Scripps Mercy Chula Vista in about three months, officials announced this week.
The plan is to move the facility's labor and delivery unit to another one of Scripps' sites, in the Hillcrest neighborhood of San Diego. The medical center said it notified workers Thursday about the move.
Scripps Health said its focus is on the needs of the entire community, and that includes making room for the growing number of emergency patients Scripps Mercy Chula Vista treats every day. The Chula Vista location has an average of 170 such patients per day but only has 25 licensed ER beds. By consolidating childbirth and postpartum services at its San Diego campus in Hillcrest, Scripps will be able to make more meds available for other patients, including those from the ER, as well as surgical recovery and other services.
Scripps Health said the Chula Vista location currently provides about 14% of the deliveries for mothers who live in South County and that about 60% of women living in South County deliver at hospitals outside the South Bay.
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The move will affect about 135 staff members, according to Scripps, which said it is working to have reassign those healthcare workers to other positions at Scripps Health across the region.
Scripps Health sent NBC 7 this statement:“Scripps is committed to meeting the needs of the entire community and this move is the way we can meet the most pressing needs now.”
The change won’t be instantaneous: In fact, California state law requires a 90 day period prior to its implementation.
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The Chula Vista facility will still be equipped to handle emergency child deliveries even after the labor and delivery unit is consolidated, according to Scripps Health.
