Senator Hassan Highlights Speare Memorial Hospital’s Birthing Unit and Support for Rural Hospitals at Senate Hearing

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) highlighted the birthing unit at Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth, New Hampshire, at a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing about the need to improve rural health care resources.

To watch Senator Hassan’s hearing questions, click here.

“I recently toured the birthing unit at Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth, New Hampshire,” said Senator Hassan. “It’s the only birthing unit left in that area of the state.”

“Eleven maternity wards have closed in New Hampshire in the last two decades. The average time, now, to get to a birthing unit in New Hampshire is about 40 minutes,” continued Senator Hassan. “The situation in rural New Hampshire is certainly not unique… Since 2011, around one in four – or more than 260 rural hospitals [nationwide] – have shut down their obstetric services.”

Last month, Senator Hassan visited Speare Memorial Hospital for a discussion with health care providers who support the hospital’s labor and delivery services and announced the introduction of new bipartisan legislation to provide support for rural health care facilities to provide urgent obstetric care. During last week’s hearing, Jeremy P. Davis, President and CEO of Grande Ronde Hospital – a rural hospital in Oregon – agreed that access to maternal health care services is an issue in rural areas and emphasized the importance of ensuring that all hospitals are prepared to provide urgent obstetric care. Senator Hassan’s new bill would help rural hospitals do that.  

Senator Hassan has led efforts to ensure that new and expecting mothers have access to high-quality health care. Last week, a Department of Health and Human Services task force released recommendations to improve maternal mental health, as required by a bipartisan law introduced Senator Hassan. Earlier this year, Senator Hassan and Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra highlighted efforts to expand access to rural maternity care at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon. Last year, Senator Hassan and the New Hampshire Congressional Delegation announced nearly $1 million in federal funding for Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center to strengthen maternal health care in the North Country. Senators Hassan and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) also previously introduced the Healthy Moms and Babies Act to strengthen health care for women before, after, and during childbirth. 

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