Chatham Maternity Care Center bucks trend of rural maternity closures

The five-bed rural maternity unit has survived for three years and counting — a promising feat amid the pressures of providing rural maternity care. Efforts are underway to care for more patients — and ensure greater financial sustainability.

In the past decade, 14 rural hospitals in North Carolina have stopped providing maternity care. Betsy Johnson Hospital in Harnett County shuttered its labor and delivery unit in October — the most recent closure.

Maintaining labor and delivery services at rural hospitals across North Carolina and the nation has become increasingly difficult as costs stay high, birth volumes stay low and staff gets harder to recruit and retain. More units are closing their doors, leaving women without a place to give birth close to home.

Chatham County is bucking that trend.

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