GRESHAM, Ore. — Legacy Health Mount Hood Family Birth Center in Gresham reopened on June 21. It has been closed for nearly three months, since March 17.
The birth facility at Mount Hood Medical Center will be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It will accommodate all patients receiving care at the Mount Hood Women's Health Clinic, which is located in the Mount Hood campus, Legacy said in a news release Monday evening.
"Due to the unpredictable nature of labor and delivery care, birthing people may need to be transferred to other facilities at certain times when our center is at capacity to ensure safe patient care. This is a standard practice for all family birth centers in the region," Legacy said in the news release.
In January, Legacy announced that it would close the birth center due to a worker shortage and financial losses, and also cited a lower number of births at the facility. Legacy moved forward with the closure in March, despite significant opposition from health care providers and members of the community who voiced their concerns. All scheduled deliveries and pregnancy-related care was transferred to the Randall Children's Hospital at Legacy Emanuel.
Legacy has since announced reopening dates multiple times over the past few months, but has delayed the birth center's reopening each time. Most recently, the birth center was expected to be operational again on June 13. However, that was paused because the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMM) requested additional information prior to approving the birth center's new operating plan.
In an email Tuesday morning, Legacy confirmed to KGW that the OHA and the CMM approved the birth center's new plan on June 16.
The Mount Hood Family Birth Center provides comprehensive care for patients who are pregnant.
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