MADRAS, Ore. — A hospital in Madras will continue to send mothers to Redmond or Bend for delivery until early 2016 due to a continued shortage of nurses trained in obstetrics.
The Bulletin in Bend reports that St. Charles Madras CEO Jeanie Gentry says the temporary moratorium was supposed to last one month and end in August, but had to be extended. She says four nurses are scheduled to complete their OB training in December, with the hospital expecting to resume deliveries in January.
St. Charles Prineville stopped delivering babies in 2010.
The hospital needs to have 10 nurses trained in obstetrics on its roster and two working at all times to ensure safe deliveries. Gentry says when deliveries stopped July 10, it was because two OB nurses left the hospital.
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