Oh, baby! Babies!
Following months of community outrage, North Central Bronx Hospital announced it will reopen its labor unit next summer.
The hospital’s maternity ward had closed in August due to a lack of senior physicians, but it will return after the standard nine-month gestation period.
“We have recruited a first rate physician leader and we are beginning the process,” said hospital Vice President William Walsh, earning cheers from his staff.
About 10% of the borough’s births took place each year at the North Central Bronx unit prior to its closure.
Community groups rallied after the shutdown, which caused excessive wait times and overcrowded rooms at Jacobi Medical Center, despite more than 100 nurses brought in to handle the overflow.
“Having those experienced doctors in the practice, with patients, working with the nursing staff, that’s very important to us,” said Sheldon McLeod, the chief operating officer at North Central Bronx.
