The Office of Health Strategy has denied a request to close labor and delivery services at Sharon Hospital, according to a decision announced Monday.
State officials said Nuvance Health, which runs Sharon Hospital, cannot close because the hospital system does not meet the criteria to determine burden of proof.
To stop services, the hospital system had to meet certain criteria, which it did not. In their decision, officials said Nuvance Health failed to satisfy four of the six applicable criteria set forth.
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Officials said the hospital, located on Hospital Hill Road, initially proposed the closure as a part of a hospital-wide strategic plan designed to expand access to services they thought were needed in the community. This includes primary care and behavioral healthcare.
In their decision, officials noted that the hospital did not consider terminating any other services as a part of their plan.
State Comptroller Sean Scanlon issued the following statement in support of the OHS decision:
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“I applaud the Office of Health Strategy’s ruling to keep the labor and delivery ward open at Sharon Hospital, and I am proud to have joined Save Sharon Hospital in their efforts to protect mothers and newborns in rural Connecticut. This is a critical issue throughout our state, which is why it was important to me to have advocates from Save Sharon Hospital as members of my Rural Health Subcommittee within the Comptroller’s Healthcare Cabinet. I will continue working with them and others across Connecticut to preserve and expand access to maternal healthcare options.”
Over a year ago, Attorney General William Tong urged regulators to consider how the closure would impact the community. At the time, his office had received over 300 petitions from concerned community members that opposed the closure.
NBC Connecticut reached out to the hospital, which deferred to the Office of Health Strategy.
