Residents of Gander and the surrounding area want to make sure Health Secretary Tom Osborne’s promise to keep maternity hospitals open in the community and in Grand Falls-Windsor wasn’t just empty words – and they took to the streets on Tuesday to say it show.
About 100 people gathered outside James Paton Memorial Hospital on Tuesday to emphasize the importance of unity in both communities. The unit at Gander was struggling to stay open due to staff shortages, and pregnant women were directed to seek help in Grand Falls-Windsor, nearly 100 kilometers away.
In February, Osborne committed to maintaining birthing centers in both cities and said he believed two locations were needed due to the number of births in both communities.
“We wanted to make sure that what Secretary Osborne is telling us isn’t empty promises, that it will lead to a thriving unit in midwifery here, and that mothers can deliver their babies safely and healthily here again,” said Samantha Abbott, leader of the Citizens Health Action Group Facebook group that organized the rally on Tuesday.
Osborne has said recruitment will be key to keeping units open. Only two midwives work in the region, down from four in 2019, when the provincial government launched a midwifery pilot in Gander, with expectations of opening sites in other parts of the province.
Gander’s Heather Picco, whose first child is expected in May, is hoping the Gander unit will be available for her birth and that there will be enough midwives to staff it – but she’s not optimistic.
“I’m confident, but do I expect that? No,” she said.
“I think it’s very important to have one here and one in Grand Falls so that people from all over the area can get to Gander … much easier than going all the way to Grand Falls.” For some of them, depending on the weather, that could be a three-hour drive. Just as good for going to St. John’s.”
Distractions create challenges, senior midwife says
The diversion from Gander to Grand Falls-Windsor has been a challenge for midwives in the area, according to Brianna Thompson, chief midwife for the provincial health department.
Midwives in the Central Health area are not offering delivery services because they don’t have the minimum staffing level to meet their current calling schedule, she said.
“It was set up in Gander. So if there is no midwifery service in Gander, it is obviously a challenge for the midwives and for the program,” Thompson said Tuesday.
“Once these rolling diversions between Gander and Grand Falls ceased and services actually remained in Grand Falls, the midwives were no longer able to maintain their services this distance from their home base.”
Thompson called Osborne’s pledge a “clear commitment and vision,” which she sees as a first step in advancing recruitment efforts.
“It is a challenge to hire staff when there is uncertainty. And now without the uncertainty, I think we’ll be more successful at recruiting people,” she said.
Thompson added that provincial health officials are also working to expand the practice to other regions, with a goal of having midwives in the Labrador-Grenfell Health Region and Eastern Health Region by 2024.
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