In a move that will force many Delaware County parents-to-be to look beyond their hometown hospital, OhioHealth is ending inpatient maternity services at Grady Memorial Hospital in Delaware at the end of July. The health system says the decision follows an internal review and reflects a steady drop in local obstetric volumes as more families opt for larger hospitals for labor and delivery.
OhioHealth's Announcement
OhioHealth said its inpatient labor-and-delivery unit at Grady will close at the end of July after review by a team of specialty physicians who evaluated the program’s volumes and resources. “Decisions like this carry real weight, and we don't take them lightly,” Cherie Smith, PhD, MBA, RN, said, noting that the system’s priority is making sure mothers and newborns have access to around-the-clock obstetric support, as reported by WSYX.
What Will Stay In Delaware
While babies will no longer be delivered on Grady’s inpatient unit, OhioHealth says prenatal, postnatal, and gynecologic care will continue in Delaware through OhioHealth Physician Group practices. The hospital will also keep other outpatient supports, including maternity classes. According to OhioHealth, Grady has long offered private birthing suites and family-focused supports that have served local families for years.
Why The Health System Made The Change
OhioHealth told reporters that during the last fiscal year, fewer than 10 percent of babies born to families living in Delaware County within the system were delivered at Grady. With such a low share of deliveries, the system said keeping a full inpatient unit operating there had become impractical. Leaders stressed the decision is not a reflection on Grady’s maternity staff and added that emergency teams at the hospital will remain trained to handle deliveries that arrive unexpectedly, as reported by WSYX.
Part Of A Bigger Maternity Shakeup
The shift at Grady is part of a broader national pattern of shrinking obstetric capacity at smaller hospitals as birth volumes and hospital finances change. Research tracking how births are increasingly concentrated in higher-volume hospitals, along with advocacy reports on expanding "maternity care deserts," has raised alarms about access for many communities. OhioHealth previously closed inpatient maternity at Van Wert Hospital in 2023, according to a press release on OhioHealth, while national trends are documented in JAMA Network Open and the March of Dimes report.
OhioHealth says it will continue to provide prenatal and postpartum care locally and will help patients coordinate deliveries at higher-level hospitals within the system. Expectant parents with questions about their delivery plans are urged to contact their OB-GYN or their OhioHealth clinic to confirm options and make transfer arrangements.
