Hello Lane County Board of Commissioners,
The Lane County Friends of the Birth Center would like to express our appreciation for your support of birth center care in our region. We are grateful for the opportunity to educate the Board of Commissioners and the public about the value of midwifery care for so many families across Lane County at the work session you convened. We look forward to your continued support as we pursue ways to ensure that this low-cost, high-quality form of community healthcare remains accessible.
The demand for midwifery care in Lane County will not disappear simply because PeaceHealth has decided to close its Nurse Midwifery Birth Center. Women and families in Lane County continue to demand healthcare choice. October marks the beginning of the gap in care that we discussed during our work session. In October, there will be no local hospitals offering 24-7 access to midwife attended births. As of August 31, there is no longer an option for birthing in a freestanding birth center. PeaceHealth continues to staff the Community Health Clinic with midwives to provide prenatal and postpartum care only; those midwives will no longer be allowed to attend births at RiverBend Hospital starting October 1. In addition, we recently learned that the Community Health Clinic stopped accepting clients with private insurance this summer. This means there is nowhere in Lane County where a privately insured pregnant woman can schedule her initial pregnancy care appointment with a Certified Nurse Midwife. We respectfully request that the Board of Commissioners revise this policy so that privately insured women can receive care at the Lane County Prenatal Clinic at the Community Health Clinic. This would prevent loss of access to midwifery care in the clinic setting and would contribute to a healthy start for some of our newest citizens.
We hope you agree that this is one concrete way to make midwifery care accessible to more people in Lane County. We look forward to your response. Please contact Lane County Friends of the Birth Center if we can provide more information or assistance.
We appreciate your ongoing support as we work together to ensure access to midwifery care in Lane County!
Thank you,
Lane County Friends of the Birth Center
