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New Prague Mayo Clinic to stop delivering babies
Data shows at least 22 Minnesota hospitals have shuttered their labor and delivery services in the last decade, including in Fosston, Albert Lea and Grand Marais.
NEW PRAGUE, Minn. — On Tuesday, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) held a public meeting to address the announcement that another hospital will stop delivering babies.
This time it’s the Mayo Clinic Health Services-New Prague location, just about a month after a hospital in Fosston, Minnesota made the same decision.
Experts say this is part of a bigger pattern that’s putting mothers and babies at risk, particularly in rural areas.
“The closest hospital you’re starting to look at Northfield, Owatonna, Mankato,” said New Prague Mayor Duane Jirik. “Then it starts getting to be an hour drive here, an hour drive there or more.”
The labor and delivery services in New Prague will close Friday, Feb. 9. Mayo Clinic officials say there is a declining birth volume and most mothers already choose to deliver babies outside the city’s campus. It also said there is a growing number of high-risk pregnancies that the hospital can’t accommodate, along with a severe shortage of obstetricians. In fact, the hospital’s last remaining doctor will be taking a leave of absence next week.
“It’s just like any other thing in the job market these days, just to try and get help and to get the staff” said Mayor Jirik. “It’s challenging because we don’t have the resources either.”
Chartis, a leading healthcare advisory firm, found that 22 Minnesota diverted its delivery services from 2011-2021. That’s one of the highest numbers in the nation. That includes places like Albert Lea, Cambridge, Ely and Hastings.
“It appears, here in Minnesota, the pace of closures has accelerated recently,” said University of Minnesota Professor Katy Kozhimannil, PhD, who conducts research on rural health across the country.
She says the workforce, clinical safety and expenses are leading to some of these closures.
“And unless we change how we resource and pay for it and value the lives of pregnant, rural Minnesotans and their babies, we are going to keep having this conversation,” said Kozhimannil.
The doctor says maternal services, like mental health, are also under reimbursed and hospitals are losing money.
In New Prague, only about one baby a week is born at the hospital, which also means staff is not getting the necessary exposure to volume, making recruitment and retention difficult. In that public meeting, Mayo Clinic called the decision “difficult”.
Mayo Clinic also said its patients can transfer to its Mankato campus or it will help move their care to other hospitals in Shakopee, Faribault and Northfield that are closer.
State law requires hospitals give MDH a 120-day notice of a change like this or it could face a fine. In the case of New Prague, it will only be a few weeks, but Mayo Clinic cited an exception, saying the lack of staff makes it impossible to continue.
“Our mission is to provide patients with the best care in the safest environment possible,” said James Hebl, M.D., regional vice president at Mayo Clinic Health System in a release. “We are delivering fewer than 100 babies per year at the New Prague hospital, and our teams need to have frequent opportunities to deliver babies to maintain their skills. In addition, we have reached a critical physician staffing shortage. Our New Prague site has only one obstetrician remaining. Despite aggressive recruitment efforts, we have been unsuccessful in filling several obstetrician openings due to a nationwide shortage of physicians.”
Hebl added: “Although difficult, this is the right decision for the long-term health and safety of our patients. We remain committed to New Prague and growing other services based on patient needs.”
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The big winter celebration is returning to its roots after a few years in Loring Park and canceling in 2023.
MINNEAPOLIS — A venerable holiday festival is getting back to its roots, as Holidazzle returns to Nicollet Mall after a year’s absence.
Organizers on Wednesday announced that Holidazzle 2024 will be a 5-day free festival held on the mall from 6th Street to Peavey Plaza (11th Street) from Wednesday, Dec. 18 to Sunday, Dec. 22. The event is billed as being a family-friendly holiday experience, with seasonal activities, food and entertainment that will offer a boost to small businesses.
Holidazzle highlights include:
- Light & art installations
- Holiday shopping pop-ups featuring Minneapolis Craft Market, Dayton’s Holiday Market, Chameleon Shoppes featuring BIPOC women-owned vendors and Minneapolis Vintage Market
- Two entertainment stages
- Free Roller Skating and Minne-Golf
- Visits with Santa
“Holidazzle is the perfect way to bring people together to celebrate our beautiful city in our winter season,” said Minneapolis Downtown Council president and CEO Adam Duininck. “From Minnesota-made treats to community performances to families making their holiday memories, it’s a true showcase of the talent, creativity, and spirit that makes Minneapolis shine!”
While Holidazzle is free and open to the public, patrons can buy a “Friends of Holidazzle” pass that offers valet parking, access to indoor restrooms, a limited-edition souvenir and a Santa “fast pass.” The passes are available for purchase starting Nov. 1, and are partially tax-deductible.
Also new is a Holidazzle Hospitality Hub, a private indoor location designed to host holiday parties for groups from 50 to 1,000 guests. The Downtown Council will work with groups to provide festive seasonal decor, an audio system with playlists and more. Those interested can contact the council for more information.
Interested in the complete schedule of events? Check out the Holidazzle website.
Holidazzle has its roots on Nicollet Mall, including the legendary parades, but in recent years has been held in Loring Park. In 2023, organizers announced that the holiday festival would not take place due to a lack of funding but promised it would be “a one-year situation.” Wednesday’s announcement shows the Downtown Council kept its word.
Investigators think the student lost control of the e-bike, then hit a curb and a tree, according to the Tigard Police Department. He was wearing a helmet.
Luisa Anderson, Amy-Xiaoshi DePaola, Joe Raineri (KGW)
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3:49 AM CDT October 3, 2024
TUALATIN, Ore. — A high school student is dead after an e-bike crash Wednesday morning.
The student, a sophomore at Tigard High School, was found dead by a passerby on the side of Southwest 124th Avenue in Tualatin, near Southwest Myslony Street. Police saw the student laying on the ground with an e-bike nearby.
Investigators think the student lost control of the e-bike while traveling south, then hit a curb and a tree, according to the Tigard Police Department. He was wearing a helmet, and no cars were involved in the crash. E-bikes can reach speeds of up to 35 mph.
During the investigation, the southbound lanes of Southwest 124th Avenue were closed between Southwest Myslony Street and Southwest Tualatin-Sherwood Road.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon hosted a special drive to sign up students.
MINNEAPOLIS — University of Minnesota fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon is working to sign up hundreds of college students to become bone marrow and stem cell donors.
The frat has been partnering with NMDP, a global nonprofit leader in cell therapy. For years it has helped register around 1,000 students.
“A big thing for us is just trying to show people fraternities aren’t just like partying and drinking and stuff like that like we actually like to give back to the community,” said Axel Arnold.
The 20-year-old joined the registry last fall through his fraternity. In the spring, he learned he was a match for a 54-year-old man and decided to donate his stem cells.
“I didn’t really think it was like too heroic or anything,” Arnold said. “If I was in that same position, I’d want somebody to do the same thing for me.”
His experience compelled him to organize the special drive at his fraternity Wednesday night. In a few hours, they registered 75 people.
“These student groups really want to make a difference. They care about their culture, they care about their society,” said Keesha Mason with NMDP, formerly Be The Match.
Mason said it’s important to get young people connected with their mission, so they’ll want to become donors. Her words inspired Arnold to sign up last fall.
“Most people think young men are disconnected but on health stance young 18–35-year-olds their stem cells, I don’t want to say are fresher, but their stem cells when they’re put into a patient that needs a match gives those patients better outcomes,” she said.
Studies of stem cell transplants have shown young donors, between the ages of 18 and 30-year-olds lead to the highest survival rates. Young men are ideal donors because they can donate a larger volume of cells, leading to higher survival rates.
Currently the stem cell registry includes about 9 million people, but the percentage of 18-24-year-olds is low.
It’s why NMDP is working to change that, meeting young people where they are at. Laney Bay was walking home when she saw NMDP in Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s front yard.
“I’ve had a lot of friends who have struggled through different medical issues in the past and it’s very interesting to me, and I want to make sure I can do what I can,” she said.
Arnold is hopeful more young people will sign up to become donors and said he would donate again if he got the call.
“It was pretty quick. I would say like actual effort I had to put into it was like probably about a half day of work towards doing it and I mean a half a day of work for a life is insurmountable,” Arnold said.
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