LINCOLN — A hospital in rural Maine is ending nonemergency deliveries of newborn babies next year following a decline in babies in the area.
Maine Public Broadcasting Network reports Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln is ending deliveries on May 1, 2015. The hospital recently saw the departure of four physicians, which also played a role in the decision to end deliveries.
The hospital was the site of 100 births five years ago. That number has declined to 59 so far this year. A hospital spokeswoman says most facilities the size of Penobscot Valley Hospital use a cutoff point of about 200 deliveries per year. Mothers in labor will now likely travel about 50 miles to Bangor and Eastern Maine Medical Center.
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