Nov 26, 2024
Only nine hospitals in the north now offer labour and birthing care, down from 20 around 20 years ago
Less than a month after Kapuskasing’s Sensenbrenner Hospital announced that its obstetrics program is at immediate risk of closing, a new report from the Northern Policy Institute is calling for action on the shortage of labour and birthing care in the rural north.
Only nine rural hospital sites are currently providing labour and delivery services to the 50,000 rural northern Ontarians of childbearing age, according to the report, titled Delivering Solutions: An Action Plan for Sustaining Rural Birthing in Northern Ontario.