By Dave Orrick

Pioneer Press

Minnesota’s oldest hospital will no longer be a destination to deliver babies.

St. Joseph’s Hospital in downtown St. Paul will close its maternity ward Sept. 10, according to Fairview HealthEast, which operates the 164-year-old downtown hospital.

The decision comes after HealthEast merged with Fairview Health Services earlier this year and is the result of mothers choosing to give birth in the suburbs, according to a Fairview HealthEast statement Tuesday.

“We routinely evaluate volumes and market projections to ensure our services are aligned with the needs of our communities,” Dr. John Kvasnicka, M.D., vice president of medical affairs, said in the statement. “Those projections show that more moms-to-be will be delivering their babies at our St. John’s Hospital in Maplewood and Woodwinds Health Campus in Woodbury while we see a steady decline of maternity patients at St. Joseph’s with no projected improvement in the future. While this was not an easy decision, this change will ensure that we can provide the right care environment to deliver the best patient experience, invest in the facilities where we see increased growth and continue to provide safe and high-quality destinations for care.”

St. Joseph’s maternity ward is renowned for its quality, especially for its ranks of midwives, who were credited with being one of the reasons the hospital boasted among the lowest rates of C-sections in the nation.

Staff were told throughout the morning and afternoon Tuesday.

At least some, if not all of the nurses, will be able to keep their jobs, according to a longtime nurse in the maternity care center who asked her name be withheld because she wasn’t authorized to speak on the decision.

“Our St. Joseph’s maternity team has had a longstanding commitment to exceptional patient care, and we thank them for establishing that good reputation,” Deb Hurd, vice president and chief nursing officer, said in the statement. “Our maternity care centers depend on consistent patient volumes to operate effectively and efficiently and maintain the best care experience for our patients and families.”

According to the statement: “A cross-functional team is now working through the transition of maternity care and residency programs from St. Joseph’s to other HealthEast hospitals to ensure a seamless experience for east metro families, families-to be, and HealthEast care teams. Maternity patients will be admitted at St. Joseph’s through

Sept. 7, 2017, and the unit will close on Sept. 10.”
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