The current legal requirement to provide women's & children’s healthcare services will expire next June (view the 2015 agreement). Without a legal requirement to maintain these vital health services, the entire Eel River Valley will struggle to provide emergency care for women and children in our community. Patients from the most Southern parts of Humboldt County would need to travel an additional 30 minutes to the St. Joseph Eureka hospital while suffering in an emergency. This could mean the difference between life and death for many of our community members in the event of a health emergency.

Over the past few years our County has made tremendous strides to train and recruit rural physicians locally. Ending the obstetric and pediatric services at Redwood Memorial Hospital will make an already difficult recruiting environment much worse by limiting practice opportunities for young physicians who might move to our community.

Please sign this petition to help sway our state Attorney General towards continuing the legal requirement so we can guarantee the Eel River Valley has women’s and children’s healthcare services available.