LEXINGTON, N.C. — By the end of June, labor and delivery services will no longer be available at Lexington Medical Center.
Wake Forest Baptist Health officials made the announcement in a press release on Friday.
The medical group says the decision is due to declining deliveries over the past ten years at Lexington Medical Center. The hospital is delivering an average of one baby per day.
“We hope those in the Lexington community understand that this was a difficult but necessary decision that will help us better meet the needs of people here in Davidson County,” said Julie Ann Freischlag, M.D., CEO of Wake Forest Baptist Health and dean of Wake Forest School of Medicine. “Deliveries at Lexington Medical Center have steadily declined over the past 10 years – dropping to less than one birth per day. Meanwhile, the costs of providing this care have continued to rise. It became clear to us that we needed to refocus our efforts on expanding women’s health services that are most needed in the Lexington community.”
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The medical group says obstetricians at Wake Forest Baptist's Women's Services clinic in Lexington will work closely with patients to ensure a smooth transition.
About two dozen positions - most of them in nursing - will be impacted by the transition of the delivery services. Wake Forest Baptist is working with those team members to place them in other positions.
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