Mayo to divert birthing services at Owatonna
Mayo Clinic will stop delivering babies in Owatonna beginning next month.
The decision to not deliver babies at the hospital in Owatonna, which is operated by Allina Health based in the Twin Cities, after Nov. 17 is being viewed as a major blow to the community and caught area leaders off guard and scrambling to get Mayo to reverse action.
While no public announcement was initially made, Mayo reportedly notified staff and patients of its decision late last week. After the Steele County Times reported the news on its online platforms Friday night, Mayo quickly issued a statement the following morning that “provides clarity and accurate information.”
In its statement, Mayo said: "Mayo Clinic Health System (MCHS) remains deeply committed to supporting patients and serving the Owatonna community. Beginning Nov. 17, Allina Health will assume OB/GYN physician staffing responsibilities for labor and delivery services at its Owatonna Hospital. MCHS care teams will continue working with each patient to support their needs through every stage of their pregnancy and ensure they receive safe, coordinated and high-quality care. Expectant mothers will continue to receive prenatal and postpartum care from their MCHS teams in Owatonna, and providers will work directly with each patient to review their birth plan, discuss delivery options, and ensure a smooth, coordinated experience.”
Mayo also went on to say its physicians have been solely providing the services through an agreement with Allina Health but are unable to continue due to recent staffing challenges and the ongoing nationwide shortage of OB/GYN physicians. Mayo added it continues to work with Allina to explore new ways to collaborate on labor and delivery services.
When asked about Mayo’s statement on Monday, Owatonna Chamber President Brad Meier said it’s misleading, and leaves more questions than answers. He said to his
knowledge Allina does not have 24-hour coverage to handle birthing services, which would create obvious problems.
“Mayo would provide prenatal and postnatal at Owatonna, but delivery would be elsewhere,” he said, noting mothers generally want to go to a single doctor who will end up delivering the baby.
Meier speculates that Mayo is regionalizing birthing services as they are still offered at hospitals in Austin, Mankato and Rochester, all at least 35 miles from Owatonna.
The chamber held a special meeting on Monday with city and county leaders to strategize on how to handle the situation. “The Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce firmly opposes diverting birthing services from Owatonna,” the chamber said in its statement. “Growing and attracting families is vital to the health of our community needs and economy and losing local delivery services undermines that effort.”
The Owatonna City Council is expected to pass a resolution showing support with the Chamber’s efforts at its Tuesday night meeting. In the council packet sent out prior to the meeting, city officials said they “concur with OACC’s statement and hope these services will be continued to be offered locally.”
While Meier said there will be on-going efforts and meetings locally over the next few weeks, the Chamber is also requesting an in-person meeting with Mayo leadership. However, Meier isn’t convinced any such efforts will help the situation. “It feels like their decision has been made,” he said, noting they were never told about it and only learned through employees of Mayo.
“It’s very disappointing. This is difficult and devastating to our community,” Meier said of Mayo’s decision. “It’s unacceptable for a community like Owatonna where there are 400 births a year.”
With the Nov. 17 stop date quickly approaching, Meier said, “We want to avoid any kind of diversion of services.”
He said the continued growth of Owatonna is at stake.
“We’re concerned this will impact the growth and attracting residents to our community. This is counter-intuitive to our efforts.”