Health professionals say Ascension puts 'profits over people' after cut to St. Francis Hospital

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MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Local health professionals are pushing back on a recent decision by Ascension Medical Group to close a labor and delivery unit at St. Francis Hospital in Milwaukee.

"They've yanked the rug out from beneath the south side of Milwaukee," Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals Executive Director Jamie Lucas said.

Lucas tells CBS 58 this announcement means at least 20 union members will be losing their jobs just before Christmas. He adds that it is not just those who are losing their job that will suffer, but the community will also feel the repercussions of the loss of the labor and delivery unit at the hospital.

"They need to do everything in their power to make sure that people are cared for in the way that they deserve in their own backyard, where they are right now," he said about Ascension.

The announcement to close the unit came just one day after a New York Times article detailed how the medical group spent years cutting jobs, igniting its own staffing crisis. The article came as no surprise to union members who claim Ascension has become notorious for "doing more with less."

"That [philosophy] doesn't fly in a factory, and it doesn't fly when your job is to take care of other human beings," Lucas said. "There should be no expense spared when it comes to taking care of our loved ones. When it comes to taking care of babies."

All labor services for Ascension will now take place at Columbia St. Mary's or St. Joseph Hospital.

In a statement, an Ascension Wisconsin spokesperson said, "Under this new arrangement, parents-to-be and babies will have access to a high level of infant and obstetrical care, including maternal-fetal medicine and neonatal specialty care, a level III neonatal intensive care unit, 24/7 obstetric emergency care, midwifery services and more. This consolidation ensures access to the most comprehensive labor, delivery, and postpartum services to all Ascension Wisconsin moms and babies."

However, employees disagree with Ascension's claims that patients will have access to better care now that the labor and delivery unit at St. Francis has been diverted to other local hospitals.

"In reality, all those services used to be provided at St. Francis, and Ascension has slowly taken those away prior to now a full closure of that unit," Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals President Connie Smith said.

This recent announcement is not the only closure coming from the medical group. CBS 58 obtained a letter sent to patients about another Ascension cut: their New Berlin clinic will be closing on Monday, Dec. 26.

The last day for admission to Ascension St. Francis Labor and Delivery Unit will be Wednesday, and the last planned discharge will be Friday. Labor and Delivery Unit associates will provide additional maternal and fetal expertise in the Ascension St. Francis Emergency Room through Jan. 7, 2023.

Several city leaders provided statements about the closing of the labor and delivery unit.

From Alderman Scott Spiker, Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa, Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic, and Common Council President José G. Pérez:

"St. Francis Hospital has a long-standing history in Milwaukee of providing quality healthcare to our community. Recently, we have received the news that the labor and delivery department will close at Ascension St. Francis on Milwaukee's south side. We are concerned about access to healthcare for our constituents and families, including our burgeoning Latino/x and immigrant communities. This decision means that expecting families have to travel further for the care they may need, and could also have a negative economic impact on our districts. We thank the healthcare workers for their service during these challenging times and will continue to work with Ascension to improve healthcare access on Milwaukee's south side."
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