McDowell County Hospital Stops Delivering Babies

A West Virginia hospital is no longer delivering babies. State Department of Health and Human Resources spokeswoman Allison Adler tells the Bluefield Daily Telegraph that Welch Community Hospital’s long-time obstetrician has retired. Adler says the hospital now only has a part-time obstetrician who does not deliver babies and has limited availability. Adler says pregnant women in McDowell County will have to find other hospitals in the region about an hour away in Bluefield or Princeton. She says the hospital plans to use a vendor to provide non-emergency obstetrician services three days a week. According to the DHHR’s website, Welch Community had 57 deliveries in 2014.