Local News

Madras Hospital Remains Closed to OB

MADRAS, OR -- St. Charles Madras continues to divert expectant mothers who go into labor, sending them to hospitals in Redmond or Bend. The hospital began diverting obstetric patients July 10, due to a lack of stable staffing. 

 

St. Charles Madras CEO Jeanie Gentry tells KBND, "We had hoped, when we first went on divert, that we would have enough nurses to go off divert within at least 30 days. But that has not happened; we actually have not been able to get any temporary OB. nurses here yet. And, we have to make sure that we put safety ahead of everything." She says training new nurses has taken longer than expected. "We were down to too few nurses; we’re still down too few nurses to care for all of our patients. And, we hope to have that resolved fairly soon, but we did not have that resolved within the 30 days. "

 

Read more on the July's closure to Labor and Deliver patients.

 

"Our long term plan is to have enough nurses so we can have two RNs that are OB. trained, on each shift," Gentry says. "In the meantime, we’re working with our physicians and continuing to look at what can we do with the nurses that are available. The closer we get to having more nurses who have completed with their training, the more options we’ll have."
 
Gentry hopes to re-open to Labor and Delivery patients within the next few months. With one OB. trained nurse on duty in the ER at all times, the Madras hospital can accept emergency OB. patients; however all others are encouraged to create alternative plans with their doctor.

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