Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Stephenville will temporarily suspend labor and delivery services in mid-August because of upcoming retirements and departures of obstetricians on the hospital’s medical staff.
“We are actively and aggressively recruiting new physicians to provide obstetrical care for families in Erath County and the surrounding areas and will resume services as soon as we can,” said Christopher Leu, president of Texas Health Stephenville. “Until new obstetricians join the medical staff, we will work closely with patients to help them find appropriate care at another Texas Health hospital if they prefer to deliver their baby at one of our facilities.”
Leu said that the hospital remains committed to labor and delivery services, with renovations and upgrades to the unit currently underway. “This $570,000 project demonstrates the hospital's long-term commitment to expecting mothers and their families,” he said.
Other investments planned at the hospital include a $2.65 million renovation of the kitchen and café and further plans to renovate the hospital’s operating rooms. These investments are in addition to the $14 million Terrell Emergency Center, which opened in 2015. The new ER has increased capacity and provides the latest in amenities at the Level IV Trauma Center.
“These investments reflect our system’s commitment to this hospital and the people of the communities of Stephenville and Erath County,” said Kirk King, chief operating officer for Texas Health’s Hospital Channel. “And while we search for new obstetricians to grow the hospital and its services even more, we apologize for any inconvenience the current situation may have on expectant mothers.”
While Texas Health diligently works to recruit new physicians to provide obstetrical services in Stephenville, Leu said leaders are also committed to working with the employees affected by this change to find other opportunities within the system.
“A benefit of our large system, which has more than 350 points of access throughout the region, is having opportunities to place impacted employees in other locations,” he said.
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About Texas Health Resources
Texas Health Resources is a faith-based, nonprofit health system that cares for more patients in North Texas than any other provider. With a service area that consists of 16 counties and more than 7 million people, the system is committed to providing quality, coordinated care through its Texas Health Physicians Group and 29 hospital locations under the banners of Texas Health Presbyterian, Texas Health Arlington Memorial, Texas Health Harris Methodist and Texas Health Huguley. Texas Health access points and services, ranging from acute-care hospitals and trauma centers to outpatient facilities and home health and preventive services, provide the full continuum of care for all stages of life. The system has more than 4,100 licensed hospital beds, 6,400 physicians with active staff privileges and more than 26,000 employees. For more information about Texas Health, call 1-877-THR-WELL, or visit www.TexasHealth.org.