Recently, Aspirus made the decision to change the obstetrics (OB) model in Ironwood at the end of the year. This decision was made only after careful evaluation and consideration and with the overall needs of our organization and the communities we serve in mind. Maintaining high-quality care in the U.P. and other rural and regional areas sometimes requires difficult decisions and careful transition.

Here are some of the rigorous, thoughtful steps involved in our decision-making process for the Ironwood OB care model transition:  

• System leaders reviewed the data: The region around Ironwood Hospital has a steadily declining and aging population, a small number of households with children, and low birth rates.  

• Medical staff and leadership assessed the infrastructure needed to sustain high-quality OB services, given staffing challenges. Aspirus Ironwood has averaged fewer than 90 births per year for the past five years, making it difficult to sustain high-quality delivery services due to the recruitment and retention of specialized team members and OB physicians.

• This decision was thoroughly and rigorously reviewed, just like all major decisions of this magnitude, through our operations governance process, and then with our U.P. and system boards to ensure it was critically evaluated and supported. Our review process before a decision is made includes multiple steps that require significant evaluation, analysis, critical thinking and scenario planning.

• The leadership team focused on patient and community concerns, establishing plans to ensure continued prenatal and postnatal services locally and options for delivery at nearby regional facilities.

• We have put employee support plans in place: Aspirus is working through its Talent Exchange Program to match affected staff to new opportunities within the system.

• We factored in contingency care: Emergency department staff are receiving advanced training to manage unexpected deliveries, ensuring patient safety during the transition.

Maintaining high-quality care in the U.P. and other rural and regional areas sometimes requires this kind of decision making and careful transition. While OB/GYN service is declining, investment is being made in other critical services that support the broader population. We won’t jeopardize all other health services we provide in a community to maintain one service line.