To Ken Samet, Dr, Joy Drass, Dr. Stephen Evans, Sue Eckert, LynnMarie Verzino, Dr. Gregory Argyros, Michael Sachtleben, and Ariam Yitbarek

We — the undersigned — are clinicians, community members, and concerned individuals demanding  the reversal of MedStar Health’s decision to:

• Close one of the postpartum wings at MedStar Washington Hospital Center (MWHC), 
• Perform a reduction in force involving multiple clinical staff working on the postpartum wing, and
• Forbid Community of Hope, Mary’s Center, and Unity clinics from scheduling inductions of labor and Cesarean sections at MWHC. 

Creating barriers to needed services for vulnerable patients in MWHC’s service area defies social responsibility and MWHC’s obligation to care for its community. Closing a postpartum wing limits access to vital postpartum care in a city enduring a maternal and infant morbidity and mortality crisis. With less bed space and less staff to care for postpartum couplets and pregnant patients with high-risk conditions, more patients will be forced to board on Labor and Delivery, diverting valuable resources away from patients requiring a higher level of antepartum or postpartum care, care during labor, and care during the delivery process. 

Community of Hope, Mary’s Center, and Unity clinics all disproportionately serve uninsured patients or patients on Medicaid in wards 4, 5, 7, and 8. While these clinics serve as excellent access points to care, many patients still require access to a hospital for management of the birthing process and any complications. To bar these clinics from scheduling inductions of labor or Cesarean sections creates obstacles to obtaining care for vulnerable community members who seek care at these clinics, disproportionately impacting people of color, immigrants, undocumented people, and impoverished individuals that are uninsured or rely on Medicaid. 

We feel strongly that MedStar Health’s decision to close one postpartum wing and to limit access to care for patients of Community of Hope, Mary’s Center, and Unity Clinics will increase morbidity and mortality of mothers and babies in the District, a crisis that disproportionately impacts wards 7 and 8 and Black populations.