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Do IT this week: Layering
Woman losing job at Wadsworth-Rittman facility has maternity unit's final child
By Cheryl Powell
Beacon Journal medical writer
POSTED: 11:56 a.m. EST, Nov 04, 2009
WADSWORTH.: When Silvia Reed left Summa Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital with her new baby in her arms, bittersweet tears streamed down her face.
The birth of her first child last week also marked the death of the place where she loved to work.
Reed had been a nurse for four years in the hospital's labor and delivery unit.
Her daughter, Aaliyah Venice Reed, was the last baby born there before the hospital officially shut down its maternity services on Saturday.
Reed delivered the 6-pound, 6-ounce baby girl last Wednesday evening after being induced nine days before her due date.
''It was very tearful,'' she said. ''I was trying not to cry until my manager hugged me goodbye and then I was a tearful mess.''
The hospital's decision to shutter its maternity ward sparked a community outcry, especially among families who had their babies in the unit and those who planned to deliver.
In August, about 130 moms and other supporters marched in front of the hospital to protest the possible closure.
But hospital officials said the birthing unit needed to close because the service was losing millions of dollars.
''We notified all our patients at the time of the decision that we were going to be closing the unit in October and encouraged each person to work with their physician or midwife on a transitional care plan,'' said Mike Bernstein, spokesman for Summa Health System, the hospital's owner.
In Reed's case, she and her husband, Ivan, knew they wanted their baby to be born at Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital.
Reed began working there as a labor and delivery nurse a month after graduating from nursing school in Dayton.
''I liked that it's a smaller unit and you can do more one-on-one care with your patients,'' she said.
In the past four years, her co-workers became her family.
''We were bonded like a family,'' she said.
Reed found out when she was about six months pregnant that she was losing her job, as well as the place she planned to deliver her baby.
As her due date approached and the impending closure of the unit drew nearer, her doctor and nurse midwife agreed to induce labor because they believed it was the appropriate plan of care.
''The nurses were fighting over who would take care of me,'' she said. ''I had the greatest nurses, because they were my best buddies.''
The hospital sent her home with diapers and other supplies that weren't needed anymore because the unit was closing.
''It was exciting but super bittersweet,'' she said. ''I was so happy to take her home. But I went the whole way to my car bawling my eyes out.''
Reed was among 33 people who lost their jobs when the birthing unit closed.
Employees who didn't accept other jobs were given severance packages, Bernstein said.
Reed said she's looking for another job but hasn't had any luck finding a position in a labor and delivery unit yet.
''I would love to get into a hospital kind of like I was in,'' she said. ''I know I'll never find one like Wadsworth-Rittman.''
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or chpowell@thebeaconjournal.com.
WADSWORTH.: When Silvia Reed left Summa Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital with her new baby in her arms, bittersweet tears streamed down her face.
The birth of her first child last week also marked the death of the place where she loved to work.
Reed had been a nurse for four years in the hospital's labor and delivery unit.
Her daughter, Aaliyah Venice Reed, was the last baby born there before the hospital officially shut down its maternity services on Saturday.
Reed delivered the 6-pound, 6-ounce baby girl last Wednesday evening after being induced nine days before her due date.
''It was very tearful,'' she said. ''I was trying not to cry until my manager hugged me goodbye and then I was a tearful mess.''
The hospital's decision to shutter its maternity ward sparked a community outcry, especially among families who had their babies in the unit and those who planned to deliver.
In August, about 130 moms and other supporters marched in front of the hospital to protest the possible closure.
But hospital officials said the birthing unit needed to close because the service was losing millions of dollars.
''We notified all our patients at the time of the decision that we were going to be closing the unit in October and encouraged each person to work with their physician or midwife on a transitional care plan,'' said Mike Bernstein, spokesman for Summa Health System, the hospital's owner.
In Reed's case, she and her husband, Ivan, knew they wanted their baby to be born at Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital.
Reed began working there as a labor and delivery nurse a month after graduating from nursing school in Dayton.
''I liked that it's a smaller unit and you can do more one-on-one care with your patients,'' she said.
In the past four years, her co-workers became her family.
''We were bonded like a family,'' she said.
Reed found out when she was about six months pregnant that she was losing her job, as well as the place she planned to deliver her baby.
As her due date approached and the impending closure of the unit drew nearer, her doctor and nurse midwife agreed to induce labor because they believed it was the appropriate plan of care.
''The nurses were fighting over who would take care of me,'' she said. ''I had the greatest nurses, because they were my best buddies.''
The hospital sent her home with diapers and other supplies that weren't needed anymore because the unit was closing.
''It was exciting but super bittersweet,'' she said. ''I was so happy to take her home. But I went the whole way to my car bawling my eyes out.''
Reed was among 33 people who lost their jobs when the birthing unit closed.
Employees who didn't accept other jobs were given severance packages, Bernstein said.
Reed said she's looking for another job but hasn't had any luck finding a position in a labor and delivery unit yet.
''I would love to get into a hospital kind of like I was in,'' she said. ''I know I'll never find one like Wadsworth-Rittman.''
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or chpowell@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
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akron, oh
Posted 01:08 PM, 11/04/2009
I hope this woman as well as the 32 people will be able to find jobs. Remember, the government is always hiring!!!
Akron, OH
Posted 01:38 PM, 11/04/2009
"But hospital officials said the birthing unit needed to close because the service was losing millions of dollars."
Maybe some Pelosi-Michael Moore true believer will explain . . .
. . how giving everyone a government insurance card, with first dollar coverage and no deductible and no concern for a bill being issued . . .
. . . and no regard for deficit spending and borrowing from the Chinese . . .
will make "healthcare less costly" and "widen access to care" . . .
and have enough primary care doctors to treat everyone.
Hudson, oh
Posted 01:41 PM, 11/04/2009
This health plan scares me.
Akron, OH
Posted 10:10 PM, 11/04/2009
If the hospital officials had said that the maternity unit is closing . . . because it's 'not making' millions of dollars, their statement might be believable . . . . but this statement that the unit is losing millions of dollars is baloney. Everyone knows that Summa doesn't buy something that is a loser. Summa is all business . . . . no heart.
rmk/akron
Akron, OH
Posted 10:25 PM, 11/04/2009
Thoughtful and analytical posts here are likely to be flagged for removal.
rmk/akron
Posted 12:01 AM, 11/05/2009
Note to IWillSurvive:
Things like this are exactly the reason an adequate Health Care Plan with reasonable cost/access for all is necessary in this great country. It is shameful the way Summa and their Insurance Subsidiary treats the community. This is a non-profit? By the way, I paid for a bond issue to build this hospital, which was owned by the community. When it was sold to Summa, did I get a check back like Barberton did? Why did Wadsworth Hosp. CEO suddenly become an officer in the Summa organization shortly after the takeover? Mayor Gigglepuss Laughbaugh, why did you not intervene and use your influence, instead of saying "These are tough decisions."
Posted 06:00 AM, 11/05/2009
Beautiful baby ... Congratulations!
Best of luck finding a new nursing job ... Even though they say we have a nursing shortage ... Very few are hiring. (At least not full time w/ benefits)
I know ... I am a nurse
Posted 07:50 AM, 11/05/2009
I'm surprised you all weren't offered jobs at the main campus. Don't tell me Summa isn't doing as well as expected. After all, you have a "new" for profit hospital too.
Barberton, Oh
Posted 11:58 AM, 11/05/2009
How sad. Two of my sons were born there and I received such good care. It wasn't crowded and busy like a bigger hospital, but nice and peaceful. And you knew your baby was well cared for. Good luck to the nurses and staff there who lost their jobs. This unit might not have meant much to the hospitals bottom line, but it meant a great deal to our area. It makes you realize that hospitals are indeed nothing more than a business anymore, and staff and patients are nothing more than a number.
Medina, OH
Posted 08:37 PM, 11/05/2009
How sad. I worked at WRH 22 years ago in maternity. It was a great group of people then ans most likely still was. I hope that those displaced by the closing will be able to find jobs. I have been unemployed as an RN since February, the economy has hit the healthcare industry too. Hospitals aren't really hiring from outside their own ranks.
akron, oh
Posted 08:52 PM, 11/05/2009
Okay, two days on this webs front page, come on. The baby had time to change head pieces and the ABJ still carries it as a top story. Sure, sad. Okay what is the story?
akron, oh
Posted 09:30 PM, 11/05/2009
Here's the last I have to say on this: you're an R.N., the most desireable profession today. Go get another job; quit crying.
Posted 11:36 PM, 11/05/2009
@sheila ~ Do you read the posts or do you just post. Two nurses have posted on this ... No one is hiring!
Doesn't matter what field you are in or if you are a RN or not ... We are in a recession. No one and I mean no one is hiring!
N. Canton, Oh
Posted 06:50 AM, 11/06/2009
Silvia, what a beautiful baby. Congratulations. I know how you feel about a small hospital and how close you become with the doctors and nurses, like "family". I too worked at a small hospital, which was my home away from home, and I loved it, St. Thomas was that small hospital.
Cincinnati, OH
Posted 09:24 AM, 11/06/2009
Many small maternity departments are at risk. Partly due to requirments of the State of Ohio and insurance company payment structures. Maternity departments pay the State of Ohio for licensure even though the hospitals have inspections from other organizations such as The Joint commission. They have increased fees for Metabolic screening tests, requiring hearing screens. All of these items are excellent requirements, but the hospitals have to absorb the costs due to insurance companies paying low flat fees per delivery. Our Government in general passes the expense to businesses for services or statistics they want. If practices do not change, the only hospitals that can afford to stay in business will be the large city hospital networks.
Posted 06:30 PM, 11/06/2009
Congrats to you and your new family. She is a real cutie. May you get a job that you love just as well.
SEVILLE, OH
Posted 12:03 PM, 11/07/2009
Blessings to the Reed family. The heart of WRH has been broken by the closing of the OB unit. The rationale proposed by the CEO is short-sighted and completely illogical. If he truly believes Wadsworth has no young families to serve (!!!) and he intends to focus on the aging population, why don't we see evidence of that? If money is the issue, why not offer to take a substantial pay-cut? BTW - How in the world can the WRH Board justify this travesty? We thought at least you all had allegiance to the community. Guess not.
