ONA Nurses And Allies Save Family Birth Centers In Lebanon And Lincoln City (Photo) - 08/27/25
LEBANON, Ore. - The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) issued this statement following Samaritan Health Services’ announcement that it will continue providing labor and delivery and emergency surgical services at all five of its hospitals. The decision to preserve these critical healthcare services comes after a months-long campaign by ONA nurses, doctors, patients, community members and elected leaders to save family birth centers and surgical services at risk of closing at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital and Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital.
“From the beginning, nurses and families made it clear these birthplaces are irreplaceable and must be saved. Generations of families got their start here, and generations fought together to make sure future families have access to safe, local healthcare.
This is a victory for our entire community—especially our patients. We are deeply grateful to everyone who wrote letters, signed petitions, attended rallies and marched with us. Your voices made the difference.
Healthcare providers, patients, and community leaders stood united and ultimately Samaritan listened.
Keeping our birth centers and emergency surgery services open is lifesaving for moms, babies and local families. We celebrate today’s announcement and look forward to continuing to care and advocate for our patients and communities.”
ONA members in the Samaritan Health Services system led the community effort to save the family birth centers and emergency surgery services. Nurses, doctors, patients, firefighters, and local and national elected officials including U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and U.S. Representative Val Hoyle (OR-04) were among those who publicly called on Samaritan Health Services to maintain rural and coastal Oregonians’ full access to labor and delivery services.
Along with leading local rallies and protests, supporters sent more than 21,000 emails to Samaritan executives and board members asking them to save local birth centers and the emergency surgery team.
Closing birth centers has become a dangerous trend in the U.S. More than 500 hospitals in the U.S. have closed their labor and delivery departments since 2010; contributing to rising maternal mortality rates. Since 2019, Oregon health systems closed birth centers at hospitals in Redmond, Baker City, Gresham and most recently at Providence Seaside Hospital.
ONA nurses led a successful community effort to save the family birth center at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center in Gresham which was closed and swiftly reopened after public outcry and state intervention in 2023.
In addition to delivering babies, healthcare providers at Samaritan's hospital birth centers offer specialized pre-and post-birth care including childbirth classes, lactation support, regular testing for moms and babies with significant health risks and care up to a month after delivery.
Community members have counted on the birth services provided at Lebanon for more than 80 years and can now count on those services continuing into the future.
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