NewsChannel 5 Investigates has reported on the Henry County Medical Center's recent decision to close its maternity ward and specialized neonatal unit. The hospital says TennCare reimbursement rates for those services are so low, they can't afford to keep the department open.
Women will now have to travel anywhere from one to two hours to deliver their babies. And doctors say lives will be lost.
If you don't live in West Tennessee, you might be saying to yourself: this doesn't affect me.
But it really does.
There are signs now all over Henry County now that say "Save HCMC OB." There's also a large billboard with the same message. They are all part of a grassroots effort to save the obstetrics department at the Henry County Medical Center.
The hospital has announced it will close Sept. 1.
"Who should be concerned about this?" NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked John Tucker, Henry County Medical Center CEO.
"Well, I think everybody — everybody that lives in a rural community in particular," he replied.
At a recent town hall meeting on the issue, audience members took to the microphone to share their thoughts and concerns.
A man asked, "What can we do to keep this place open the service open?"
A woman stated, "We are passionate about keeping this very much-needed service here.
It was obvious that many here are not happy with the hospital's decision.
"And rightly so," Tucker said. "They are upset. And we are too. I think there’s an impression out there that we didn’t give this a lot of thought, that it was a rash decision, and it was neither of those things."
Tucker said the Henry County Medical Center now finds itself in a situation that's playing out across Tennessee.
"Our hospital is really struggling, and I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that we are on the verge of failure," he explained.
And some now worry about what will happen if the OB department falls.
"That is going to devastate the community," Henry County commissioner Missy Hamilton said.
She also fears what might then happen next.
Not only is the medical center the only hospital they have, but it's also the biggest employer, providing some 700 jobs.
"What if it’s another (hospital) department next and another? We’re going to lose all of those employees. They're going to have no job, then our businesses are going to have to leave because our families have no place to start a family. It’s going to be a ripple effect," Hamilton said.
This same struggle is happening in communities across the state.
Four hours east of Henry County in Clay County, NewsChannel 5 was there after the Cumberland River Hospital, the only hospital in Celina, closed its doors in 2019.
More than a dozen Tennessee hospitals have closed since 2010 and industry insiders expect there will be more to come.
According to a study released earlier this year by the Tennessee Hospital Association, 45% — just under half of all hospitals in Tennessee — are at risk of closure.
And the vast majority of them, according to the study, are rural hospitals where the majority of patients are on TennCare.
In Henry County, that's 70 percent of the women who deliver here.
"How do we save those hospitals?" Michelle Johnson, executive director of the Tennessee Justice Center, asked.
Johnson said keeping these hospitals open should be a priority for everyone, whether you live in one of these small towns or not.
"Anybody who happens to be driving through those healthcare deserts has a car accident, has a heart attack, has a stroke, they won’t be able to get to the next hospital," she warned.
Hospitals say TennCare providers need to significantly increase their reimbursement rates so they're closer to what hospital services actually cost, while others say it's time for the state to finally expand Medicaid. Tennessee is one of only a few states that refuses to do so, which means the state is missing out on billions of federal dollars that could be used to save these rural hospitals and valuable services like maternity care.
"Given the governor's strong stance that he cares about moms and babies, this is an opportunity to put his money where his mouth is, and take care of these, take care of these West Tennessee folks," Johnson suggested.
In the meantime, it's falling on these communities to figure out how to keep the hospital doors open, a heavy burden considering many folks are struggling themselves.
"It’s not fair to lay it on all citizens," Missy Hamilton, the county commissioner said.
She showed us a stack of emails she's received from folks in the community.
People, she said, are telling her: "I don't want my property taxes increased.
Hamilton said people are torn.
Sarah Rowlett delivered her twin girls four years ago at the Henry County Medical Center.
"I was so thankful to have those services here," she said.
She can't imagine losing the hospital, but also wonders how will they save it.
"If other places are not having to raise taxes, or come up with funds from the county, then there has to be another way," Rowlett said.
For now, the people who want to save the hospital are using signs, the billboard, and even now website, www.nwtncares.org, where people are urged to contact their elected officials and share a story about how Henry County's OB unit saved their baby or their wife.
Their goal, of course, like their slogan, is to "Save the OB Ward" at the hospital. And perhaps, if they can do that, they'll save even more.
The Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth released a study in May that looked at all 95 counties in Tennessee. Henry County came in 85th in the state for babies with low birth weights. The report suggested the way to improve that number was to make sure women had access to prenatal care, something that won't be easy to do if the obstetrics unit there closes.
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