Harnett County Faces Maternity Care Crisis After Hospital Closure
Harnett County is experiencing a maternity care crisis following the 2023 closure of the Betsy Johnson Hospital’s maternity unit, leaving nearly 2,000 women who give birth annually with limited options for delivery. The hospital, operated by Cape Fear Valley Health, cited financial struggles as the reason for the closure—marking the 10th maternity unit to shut its doors in North Carolina over the past decade.
With the closure, women in Harnett County must now travel 45 minutes to Fayetteville’s Cape Fear Valley Medical Center for maternity care, navigating major highways fraught with construction and heavy traffic—an ordeal that can be perilous during labor. For those without reliable transportation, the risks only intensify.
The maternity care landscape in the region has become increasingly sparse. Hoke County’s two hospitals also lack labor and delivery services, while nearby Johnston and Sampson counties have reduced their maternity offerings. The situation mirrors a wider statewide trend of hospital systems centralizing care in urban areas while abandoning rural communities—a pattern detailed in a Carolina Public Press investigation.
Cape Fear Valley Health attributed the closure to declining demand, recruitment challenges, and the high costs associated with maintaining a maternity ward. Without state regulations to prevent such closures, rural areas are left vulnerable to becoming maternity care deserts.
Despite the closure, Cape Fear Valley Health asserts that gynecological, prenatal, and post-natal care will continue in Harnett County. However, emergency rooms, which lack the necessary equipment for safe deliveries, are now the only option for women unable to transfer in time.
As more hospitals reduce maternity services, Harnett County residents face an increasingly precarious journey to motherhood, underscoring the urgent need for equitable healthcare access in rural North Carolina.
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