‘Shhh…Babies Sleeping’: Regional Medical Center reopens its labor and delivery ward ...Middle East

The sound of newborns crying — along with the chimes of a lullaby announcing their arrival into the world — will ring through the halls of Regional Medical Center starting next week as the East San Jose hospital reopens its long-closed labor and delivery ward.

The restoration comes six months after Santa Clara County purchased the hospital from HCA Healthcare, one of the largest for-profit hospital chains in the nation, amid a fight over the closure of RMC’s Level II trauma center and other critical lifesaving services. HCA shut down labor and delivery care at the hospital in 2020. The health care giant currently operates Good Samaritan Hospital in West San Jose.

“From day one, our goal has been very simple: restore vital services for this community and strengthen the hospital’s foundation for the future,” Paul Lorenz, the CEO of the county-operated Santa Clara Valley Healthcare system, said at a Thursday morning press conference.

The county reopened the trauma center along with stroke and heart attack services on its first day of ownership earlier this year. Since then, Lorenz said the hospital’s patient volume has doubled.

Labor and delivery services, which the county had previously promised to restore, will resume on Monday morning behind swinging doors with large lettering that reads, “Shhh…Babies Sleeping.”

The hospital is projected to see more than 1,000 births each year as it welcomes expectant mothers who, otherwise, would have traveled across town to give birth. In the last five years, more than half of the births at nearby O’Connor Hospital — one of four county-owned hospitals — have been by women living in East San Jose, according to county officials.

“When a mother is in labor, they have enough to worry about and should not be concerned if they will make it to the hospital on time due to traffic,” Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong, whose district includes the hospital, said. “They should have the right and the ability to deliver in their home community…It’s now time for babies from East Side to be born in East Side again.”

The new maternity ward, which was filled to the brim with boxes when the county took over operations, has six delivery rooms, 13 post-delivery rooms, four triage rooms and a six-bed neonatal intensive care unit. All of the birthing rooms will be single family rooms.

Greta Hansen, the chief operating officer of the county, said “comprehensive support and care” for families will be provided before and after the birth of a child.

“Many of us felt like the most intensive learning that we did in our lives were in those few days after we delivered a new baby, learning about breast feeding and baby bonding and how to care for our baby when we bring that baby home from the hospital,” Hansen said. “We will also be offering social support for families who need more than just that resource in the hospital and what they’ll need to care for their baby.”

Board of Supervisor President Otto Lee said that while the reopening of the labor and deliver ward was cause for celebration, challenges lie ahead for the county-owned health care and hospital system. The county is facing a roughly $1 billion annual hole in its budget in the coming years as a result of recent federal cuts to Medicaid.

County leaders have warned that the cuts put lifesaving services that rely on the funding stream at risk of closure. As a result, Santa Clara County voters will decide in November whether to approve Measure A — a 0.625% sales tax rate increase — that is expected to generate $330 million annually and offset some of the cuts.

“Our neighbors depend on accessible, high-quality care close to home and that’s why it’s essential that we continue to work together across all levels of government with health care providers and community partners to ensure that these life saving investments are actually protected,” Lee said.

County Executive James Williams, said the coming years and the cuts will “test” the county as an organization, but they’re “committed to not letting the Trump administration decide for us what we know we need to do to deliver the care and service we need here in our community.”

“We’re going to have future generations of leaders born right here at Regional Medical Center,” Williams said. “We are committed to ensuring that this resource is here for generation after generation to come.”

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