Conemaugh Nason Medical Center, Roaring Spring, will be discontinuing its scheduled obstetrics delivery services effective Oct. 9, marketing communications coordinator for Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center Marni Baluta confirmed Tuesday.

In a statement provided by Baluta, Nason Medical Center said it “will partner with Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center, as well as other local facilities in the area, to ensure that patients continue to receive the high-quality OB/GYN care they deserve.”

The hospital will continue to perform emergency deliveries as needed, Baluta said.

The decision to discontinue the services comes as Nason evaluates the care it offers to ensure it is “operating as effectively as possible” and that the care it provides is “reflective of what our community truly needs,” according to a statement.

In an internal email obtained by the Mirror dated Aug. 9, Conemaugh Nason Medical Center CEO Tim Harclerode told the hospital’s employees, physicians and volunteers that the number of deliveries at Nason had “declined significantly over the last several years” and that the limited demand for the services combined with “operational challenges” have made it difficult for Nason to effectively provide obstetric services.

“With several other excellent options for care nearby, we are confident that expectant mothers in our area will continue to have access to high-quality OB services,” Harclerode wrote.

Administrators at Nason will help impacted employees through the transition, Harclerode wrote, adding that it is their hope that all staff would apply and be placed in open positions either at Nason or at another Conemaugh campus.

It is unclear how many patients and employees will be affected by this change.

In the statement provided by Baluta, Nason said that discontinuing obstetrics delivery services will enable it to “focus on strengthening and investing more in other services that our community needs — like cardiology, orthopedics, GI and general surgery.”

The announcement comes as rumors circulate throughout the community that Conemaugh Nason will also be closing its OB/GYN and pediatric clinics, as well as opening a fourth operating room.

While Baluta did not confirm or deny the closures and fourth operating room, she said that Nason’s OB/GYN clinic is “not currently accepting new patients” but will “continue to serve established patients.”

Roaring Spring Borough Mayor Rodney Green said that while he has also heard the rumors, he has not heard or received anything official on the matter.

“The borough has benefited greatly from the hospital being here,” Green said. “They’re looking at the bottom line and if business changes, they need to make changes to make health care successful in our area. It might not be a negative thing, they might just be going in a different direction.”

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.