WAUPACA (NBC 26) — ThedaCare Medical Center-Waupaca announced that the labor and delivery unit will close next February, leaving pregnant mothers worried about their child birth and maternity care.
- Many in the Waupaca community are concerned about what the closure will mean for women and mothers.
- ThedaCare cites labor shortages as one of the reasons for the closure.
- Save Waupaca Labor and Delivery is a Facebook group determined to convince ThedaCare to reverse its decision.
On Tuesday, Dec. 17, Gullickson and her partner, Sky Byrd, handed out flyers for this weekend’s bake sale.
“What we’re trying to do is spread the word physically,” Byrd says.
The money raised at the bake sale will go towards advertising the closure of Waupaca’s only labor and delivery unit at ThedaCare.
Byrd says the Save Waupaca Labor and Delivery group hopes to buy a billboard to spread awareness.
“A lot of people didn’t know until even like a day or two ago when we were handing out flyers,” Byrd says.
In a statement sent to NBC26, ThedaCare said, “The needs and demands of expectant mothers are shifting – deliveries have been declining and mothers are choosing to deliver at larger birth centers. The shortage of physicians and nurses in rural areas is an issue being felt across the country, and in our region, as labor and delivery complexity is increasing.”
Gullickson says she doesn’t believe mothers are driving to larger hospitals to give birth.
The closest labor unit to Waupaca is in Stevens Point, and the closest ThedaCare labor unit is in Neenah.
“I don’t think a lot of people in our community would choose to do that if they didn’t have to,” she says. “I don’t think anybody would choose to drive an hour away in labor if they didn’t have to.”
ThedaCare also said in the statement “Mothers can be confident in continuing their pre- and post-delivery care, breastfeeding support and well-baby care at ThedaCare Medical Center-Waupaca as these are important ongoing services to provide in our local communities.”
Gullickson says it would be difficult for her to have different pre-delivery care doctors than those during labor.
“A lot of people want to know the people that are going to be there when they have a baby,” she says. “I finally found a doctor here that I really like, that listens to me and my needs, and that’s something that not a lot of people find easily.”
ThedaCare says the unit will close on Feb. 15. Gullickson’s due date is March 9. She planned to have her baby boy at ThedaCare in Waupaca, before hearing news of the closure.
Gullickson says if the decision stands, she will need to drive to Neenah for childbirth in order to stay in the ThedaCare system.
“This is my first baby, I don't know how long I labor– there's a lot of stories I hear of women who give birth in 20 minutes to an hour, which would not be enough time for me to get to Neenah,” she says. “It’s definitely just a scary thing that I hope they just reverse the decision, so I don’t have to think about it.”
Gullickson and Byrd say they’re worried the unit’s closure will create a large maternity care desert– an area without a single birthing facility– in Wisconsin.
A March of Dimes report published this year shows over a third of counties in the U.S are maternity care deserts.
“Anyone knowing the information that we know would say, we don’t want that for our community or for our state,” Gullickson says. “I should be painting a nursery, and getting a hospital bag ready… I should be nesting, not fighting for the rights of my community.”
Byrd, who owns a business in Waupaca, says he worries that with less maternity care in town, less families will move to Waupaca and the business community will suffer.
“It’s not good for the community,” he says. “It hurts that this would be something that a corporation would choose when they're founded on beliefs and principals that should be taking care of a small community."
On Dec. 3, Waupaca City Council voted unanimously to approve a resolution asking ThedaCare to reconsider its decision.
ThedaCare continues to say the unit will close on Feb. 15.
Save Waupaca Labor and Delivery is hosting a bake sale on Saturday at 10 a.m. at Par 4 Resort in Waupaca.
Byrd says the group plans to make signs and protest outside ThedaCare headquarters in Neenah in early January.
More event updates can be found on their Facebook page.
There is also a petition online to save the unit.
Byrd says the group will continue to push back against the decision, even after the closure on Feb. 15.
The full ThedaCare statement sent to NBC26 can be found below:
"ThedaCare is committed to providing access to safe, high-quality health care. As our communities change, we must change with them to provide the right level of care at the right place.
The needs and demands of expectant mothers are shifting – deliveries have been declining and mothers are choosing to deliver at larger birth centers. The shortage of physicians and nurses in rural areas is an issue being felt across the country, and in our region, as labor and delivery complexity is increasing.
Mothers can be confident in continuing their pre- and post-delivery care, breastfeeding support and well-baby care at ThedaCare Medical Center-Waupaca as these are important ongoing services to provide in our local communities.
Labor and delivery services at ThedaCare Medical Center-Waupaca will close as of February 15, 2025. As an integrated health system with our network of hospitals, physicians will work with expectant mothers to create coordinated labor and delivery plans at the birth center of their choice, including ThedaCare hospitals in Appleton, Berlin, Neenah and Shawano.
This was a difficult decision, and one that was not made lightly because of our dedication to the people we are privileged to serve.
We recognize and thank our physicians and nurses who are committed to caring for families in Waupaca."
