Russellville Hospital has announced the facility will suspend obstetrical services on or before March 31.

According to Chief Executive Officer Christine Stewart, the matter has been given a great deal of consideration.

“It is with a heavy heart that we must inform the community that Russellville Hospital will begin the process to close our obstetrical unit. Russellville Hospital has always taken pride in providing mothers and their newborns with highly experienced and compassionate medical and nursing care,” Stewart said in a release Tuesday morning.

She said the hospital loses more than $600,000 annually in obstetrical services.

“It became apparent we simply could not continue to support a service that was losing money at such a staggering pace,” Stewart said.

In 2010, Russellville Hospital delivered 558 babies. The loss to Russellville Hospital for providing these services is $1,028 per delivery, the release said. The service line is expensive not only because of malpractice premiums, but also because the units must be staffed 24 hours a day seven days a week. Eight out of 10 Russellville Hospital OB patients are covered by Medicaid, which reimburses at a much lower rate.

“This is one of the toughest decisions we’ve made at Russellville Hospital, and one we did not enter into lightly. While our decision is not a direct result of the economy, it does represent the kind of decisions hospitals across the nation are facing,” Stewart said.

“The two other Shoals area hospitals that provide OB care, Helen Keller Hospital and Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital, factored into our decision, because we know families have nearby quality programs to choose from.”

According to Stewart, this decision was made in order to preserve the hospital’s overall ability to serve the residents of Franklin County.  The hospital cannot continue to absorb these losses without jeopardizing other services. The closure will not disrupt other services provided at Russellville Hospital, which includes acute medical conditions, chronic disease management, gynecological surgeries, general surgery, orthopedics, ENT, MRI, CT and a full-service emergency department.

Russellville Hospital has a transition plan in place for affected hospital employees who are being given the highest priority for vacant nursing positions. Russellville Hospital’s OB program will close no later than March 31. The exact closure date will be determined by how long the hospital can maintain the necessary staffing.

The hospital currently employs 350 individuals who care for patients through a variety of clinical, administrative or professional roles, with more than 70 qualified medical staff.