A torrential downpour in Springfield Sunday didn’t stop nurse midwives, expectant parents and community supporters from gathering to celebrate the grand opening of a new, free-standing Birth Center.
Midwives, mothers, former clients, donors and even some county commissioners were dismayed when PeaceHealth announced in spring 2019 that it would close its Nurse Midwifery Birth Center.
The history of Lane County s only freestanding birth center stretches back for decades, to one of the first freestanding birth centers in the nation. But, over the past 40 years, the center has moved under the jurisdiction of different hospitals.
Despite protests, testimonies and petitions, the birth center facility at PeaceHealth closed Aug. 31. Now, advocates who first united to save the facility stayed together to establish something new their own nonprofit midwife-run center. We re not beholden to anyone except the board of directors for our nonprofit, said Mary Carpenter, a certified nurse-midwife and board president of the new center that will be located next to Island Park in Springfield.