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TOPPENISH, Wash. — This rural city on the Yakama Indian Reservation had just one hospital, and three days before Christmas, that hospital abruptly closed its maternity unit without consulting the local population, the doctors who delivered infants there, or even the board of directors of the hospital.
The unexpected closure of Astria Toppenish Hospital, which violated the hospital’s promise to the state to provide crucial services in this rural area, threw the plans of at least 35 women who were scheduled to give birth at the hospital in January alone into chaos.
Victoria Barajas, who is 34 years old and expecting her first child, was frantically searching for a new obstetrician in the days leading up to the due date of January 7. Jazzmin Maldonado, a 29-year-old educator who was about to give birth very soon, was concerned about her ability to go to a hospital that was quite a distance away in time.
However, the maternity ward of the hospital had discontinued providing services sometime earlier in that year. The most recent delivery was made in June. Michelle reports that the hospital instructed the driver not to show up. They had to make the trip to Norwich, which would take around half an hour by car.
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The ambulance began driving down Route 32, which is a twisty road. However, they were unable to arrive in Norwich before it closed. In the end, Shantel had no choice but to give birth by the side of the road.
It was determined that the infant boy would require round-the-clock care, which the Norwich hospital was unable to offer. They were redirected once more to a hospital in Hartford, which was another half an hour away.
Both the infant and Shantel are doing well; they are currently residing in New Orleans with Michelle. But it was a terrifying event, and it left Michelle bewildered about the condition of the community hospital in the city that she had called home for more than three decades.
She stated that even after more than a year had passed, she was still attempting to alter the information on her grandson’s birth certificate; however, the local authorities are divided as to where he was actually born.
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“I was very concerned about her safety. “I had no idea what was going to take place,” Michelle remarked in reference to Shantel. “When you have a whole city full of women who have to have babies, how are you going to do that?”
Those are the things that are at risk with each of these choices. The ability of hospitals to provide transportation and other services, in addition to working to ensure that the community is ready for this transition, is one way in which the effects of this change can be mitigated.
However, as Kozhimannil explained to me, there is the potential for long-term damage if these attempts are unsuccessful.
The leaders of Windham’s community are concerned that they are heading toward such a future. They are concerned about the implications the closing of the hospital’s maternity wing will have not only for pregnant parents but also for the community as a whole.
Reyes stated that she had a strong suspicion that the municipality would not be able to live up to its full potential, and that its 10-year plan for economic development would wind up being wasted.
Leah Ralls, who is the head of the local NAACP and one of the members of the Windham coalition, told me that the citizens of the town are truly surprised by what has happened. What do you mean, there’s nowhere in Windham where you can have a baby? “To which location are we supposed to report?”
