SEASIDE, Ore. — Providence Seaside Hospital will close its obstetrics and inpatient newborn care services Oct. 4, citing high costs, declining birth volumes and workforce shortages.

The closure will affect labor and delivery, well-newborn inpatient care, and outpatient prenatal and gynecologic surgical care with an OB/GYN physician, according to Providence Health & Services Oregon.

Officials said Oregon’s health care system is “undergoing a historic reset,” with care costs outpacing reimbursement, compounded by inflation, staffing shortages and rising supply expenses.

The number of deliveries at Providence Seaside has dropped in recent years, with 56 in 2023 and 66 in 2022, hospital officials said. Recruitment has also been difficult following the retirement of the hospital’s only OB/GY

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