For more than 100 years, Olney Hamilton Hospital welcomed new life into the world. Generations were born there. Families built their lives around a place that felt safe, close, and connected to home. But in June 2025, Olney stopped delivering babies.

The loss of maternity care in Olney is not just about one town. It is part of a devastating trend across rural Texas, where nearly 60 percent of hospitals no longer offer labor and delivery services. Women are now forced to drive 30, 40, even 60 miles to give birth. That means more risky pregnancies, more babies delivered on the side of the road, and fewer young families choosing to stay in small towns.

This is not just bad policy. It is a warning sign. When a town cannot offer maternity care, it begins to lose its future. It becomes harder to attract workers, grow businesses, or convince young people to come home and raise a family.

We are calling on Texas lawmakers and the Olney Hamilton Hospital Board to take urgent steps to restore maternity care in Olney, and to ensure rural communities across the state are not left behind. That includes:

• Fully funding Medicaid reimbursements for rural births
• Supporting stand-alone birthing centers and regional OB partnerships
• Reversing policies that make it nearly impossible for rural hospitals to meet federal operating room requirements

Dr. Chantel Taylor, one of Olney’s only OB-trained physicians, is still caring for patients and delivering babies wherever she can. But it should not be this hard. She should not be driving hours, sleeping in trailers, and scrambling to give rural moms the care they deserve.

Sign this petition to demand that Olney and rural Texas get the resources they need to care for moms, babies, and the future of their communities. No hospital is complete if it cannot welcome new life.

Photo: Texas Tribune