St. Charles Madras to resume delivering babies Jan. 25
The Family Birthing Center at St. Charles Madras, closed six months ago due to staffing issues, will reopen on Monday, Jan. 25, officials announced Thursday.
“We’re going to be better than we’ve ever been before,” CEO Jeanie Gentry said.
In July, St. Charles said it “made the difficult decision to temporarily close the unit to allow the Madras hospital to stabilize its staffing situation and provide a higher level of service to patients.”
Since that time, the hospital group said, a team of health system leaders, Madras caregivers and physicians has worked to address the underlying issues faced by the unit.
“I am proud to report that this team has made tremendous progress toward ensuring our obstetrical service is both clinically excellent and sustainable for years to come,” said Jeanie Gentry, St. Charles Madras and St. Charles Prineville CEO.
Specifically, the team has:
Hired a new Madras OB nurse manager, Tammy Wilson, whose responsibilities include managing staff and ensuring the service line meets the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ high clinical standards
Secured the services of 11 labor and delivery nurses, ensuring there is sufficient depth in staffing
Begun exploring the possibility of a fellowship program to train St. Charles nurses who are interested in a career in labor and delivery
Completed a market analysis of Madras nursing wages and found that their wages are in line with other similar health systems across the state. To ensure Madras nurses continue to remain competitive within Central Oregon, however, St. Charles decided to provide a market adjustment as of Dec. 20
Plans to form an OB safety and quality steering committee, staffed by caregivers from Bend, Madras and Redmond FBCs—as well as system leaders and physicians—to oversee clinical quality and education
“We know the closure of our Family Birthing Center was an inconvenience for our patients and providers,” Gentry said. “We’ve appreciated the community’s support and patience during this time, and look forward to once again offering our obstetrical services Jan. 25.”
Gentry told NewsChannel 21 increasing pay was a key solution to attracting more nurses to work in Madras.
“That was one of the final ingredients we needed to put in place,” Gentry said. “To make sure we could keep nurses here long-term (we needed to be) equitable with Bend and Redmond nurse pay.”
While the birthing center was closed seven babies were born at St. Charles Madras. Two of the deliveries were scheduled C-Sections and five were emergency births.
