PORT ANGELES — Proposed service cuts for a one-of-its-kind support program for new mothers and their babies was met with a flood of opposition — and crying infants — at Olympic Medical Center this week.
Eighteen public speakers pleaded with hospital officials Wednesday to spare New Family Services from the financial chopping block.
New Family Services provides in-home and clinic consultations, with nurses and lactation consultants who help new mothers through the struggles of breast-feeding and other postpartum issues.
OMC formed the program with a grant 14 years ago.
It is the only program of its kind in the state.
Norma Turner, chair of Prevention Works!, a nonprofit community coalition that “advocates, educates and invests in our children,” led off public testimony by announcing that weekend home visits and phone consultations have been cut and that all home visits will be discontinued as of Oct. 1.
Given the level of community support for New Family Services, Turner said she was “shocked” the program would be “gutted” without community input.
“I believe the community deserves better than this kind of quick decision-making without community discussion,” Turner said.
Citing financial constraints, OMC officials confirmed the cuts to New Family Services.
Urged to reconsider
Turner urged commissioners to reconsider the budget cuts to “keep this valuable service in our community.”
OMC officials had planned to close the aquatic therapy pool in Port Angeles earlier this year but reconsidered after being met with community opposition.
Laura Costello said her son, Taylor, was unable to nurse before in-home consultations from New Family Services.
She brought her now-healthy 11-year-old to the meeting as a testament to the long-term benefits of the program.
Other speakers cried as they told personal stories about New Family Services helping their sick babies learn to latch and gain weight.
After hearing more than hour’s worth of emotional testimony, OMC Commissioner Jim Cammack said the board would “certainly take your comments under consideration and discussion.”
OMC Chief Executive Officer Eric Lewis thanked the audience for the “very compelling” stories, saying: “You gave us a lot to think about.”
Financial hurdles
Lewis then painted a dire picture of OMC’s financial challenges, including a $5 million reduction in Medicare reimbursement this year alone.
And New Family Services, Lewis said, loses more than $200,000 per year.
“We’d love to keep it, and we’re going to continue to look for ways to fund it, but again, we have to balance our books,” Lewis told an overflow crowd of nearly 100 parents and babies in Linkletter Hall.
“We face big challenges that threaten our survival.”
Dr. Madeline Harrington, a 30-year pediatrician in Port Angeles, said she was “shocked and dismayed” to learn last weekend that New Family Services would no longer see patients on weekends and would stop making in-home visits come fall.
“The OB nurses are great about helping moms breast-feed, but honestly, most of the problems come when the mom goes home,” Harrington said.
“They no longer have the around-the-clock support, and things just go south. Going to somebody’s house is so much better than to have the mom come to the clinic, come to the hospital, God forbid come to the emergency room.”
Harrington said the cuts to New Family Services would likely result in more babies being bottle-fed rather than breast-fed.
“Now, babies can do just fine on formula, but it’s very clear that breast-feeding is much better in many, many ways for moms and babies,” Harrington said though the sound of crying infants.
“I was also surprised to hear that [New Family Services] is the only one in the state of Washington, and it’s tragic that it’s all of a sudden being severely curtailed,” she said, adding: “Perhaps some reconsideration could be made about just gutting the program.”
The groundswell of support for New Family Services was organized prior to the meeting on Facebook.
Redefine it
After hearing public testimony, Lewis said the goal is to continue New Family Services but “redefine how it’s done.”
“You’ve given us some good suggestions, but we have to look at our costs and services and make sure we’re going to be viable for the long term,” Lewis told the crowd.
“Because if we run out of money, that doesn’t help any of us.”
One possibility for keeping New Family Services in the black is grants, Lewis said.
“I think we need to get to our politicians in Olympia,” he added.
“Why isn’t this funded for the whole state? Why are we the only hospital in the state doing this?”
At the end of the nearly two-hour meeting, Turner suggested a grant that would fund a research component to demonstrate how effective New Family Services is.
Said Cammack: “I think we need to have a little more research in terms of what we can do to maybe make the service a little bit more efficient.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
