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The California Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a bill coauthored by Sen. Megan Dahle (R-Bieber) to open new opportunities for hospitals to provide labor-and-delivery services for pregnant women in rural communities that have become “maternity care deserts.”
Senate Bill 669 creates a pilot program for up to five critical-access rural hospitals, developed by Plumas District Hospital in Quincy to fulfill its commitment to provide maternity care for Plumas County. The “Plumas model” allows hospitals to staff labor-and-delivery services on a “standby” basis, with medical teams available within 30 minutes, instead of on a 24/7 basis. That round-the-clock staffing has proved impossible to sustain in many rural communities, leaving pregnant women with no local option for delivery at all. But traveling long distances to hospitals with maternity wards is itself dangerous to women and their babies.
“I’m very grateful to the community healthcare leaders in Plumas County who would not give up on their commitment to provide vital care for birthing women close to home,” Sen. Dahle said. “Their creative approach is setting a new standard for what is possible in rural California.”
Rural communities around California have been hard hit by the loss of hospital maternity services in the past decade, leading a bipartisan coalition to support this effort. SB 669 now goes to the governor’s desk for his signature.