State officials tour birthing center at WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital
Zach Petroff | TikTok成人版
Pennsylvania Secretary of Human Services Dr. Val Arkoosh visited WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital on Monday to take a private tour of the facility’s new birthing center that opened in January.
Hospital President and CEO Karyn Wallace said the birthing center, which is expected to deliver its 100th baby this week since reopening, has been a welcomed commodity in the community.
“We estimate 1,400 births per year to Fayette County residents, and until we reopened our birthing centers mothers had to travel 35 to 45 minutes to deliver,” Wallace said.
Arkoosh recognized the importance of having maternity services for rural areas, citing the birthing center as a success story.
“The story of the Uniontown Hospital is one of success, one that says it doesn’t have to be this way. (W)hen we can make those targeted investments and build those strong partnerships, we really can change the trajectory of some of these stories,” Arkoosh said.
In 2024, seven hospitals in the state closed, according to the Pennsylvania Health Access Network.
The birthing center brings labor and delivery services back to expectant mothers and their families in Fayette County communities for the first time since 2019, when the labor and delivery unit closed as part of a cost-cutting move.
The $5 million unit features five newly-renovated labor, delivery and recovery rooms,11 postpartum rooms and a suite for babies born via Cesarean section.
During a press conference before the tour, Arkoosh touted Gov. Josh Shaprio’s agenda to provide funding to rural hospitals, including directing $37.5 million to hospitals in counties where the population is below 209,999. That would include Fayette, Greene and potentially Washington counties.
“These are meaningful investments for our rural hospitals, about half of them operate in the red at a zero profit margin,” she said.
Arkoosh also said the Shaprio administration wants to focus on reducing maternal mortality and morbidity by dedicating an additional $5 million to fund maternal health initiatives including implementing universal postpartum depression screenings.
“Our goal is to look at the data here in the commonwealth and focus on those resources where we know they’re going to matter the most,” Arkoosh said.