Not many ideal births involve driving through rush hour traffic in labor from Corbett to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, but starting March 17 that will likely be the reality for many East County families. the Family Birth Center at Mt. Hood Medical Center, citing staffing issues, fewer deliveries, and financial shortfalls as their rationale for removing a vital service from East County. As a labor and delivery nurse and a former employee at the Mt. Hood birth center for five years, I am appalled and concerned for the impact Legacy’s decision will have. The Oregon Health Authority, which must approve Legacy’s request to close the birth center, should scrutinize some very important issues that will deeply affect the public as it evaluates the hospital’s request. First, location: Mt. Hood is the only hospital-affiliated birth center between Providence Hood River and Portland Adventist, which operate approximately only 10 to 20 beds each, according to colleagues. East County patients will now turn first to small birth centers without the capacity to absorb them and next to the rest of the metro-area hospitals, which are already overburdened and too far away in life-or-death emergencies or winter weather like we just experienced. Families will now face stressful commutes by car or public transit in labor, turn up in emergency rooms overrun with infectious patients for nonspecialized care or call already inundated ambulances. Second, equity and access: East County has a high population of low-income, under-insured and Oregon Health Plan patients with multiple health challenges and barriers to health care. Reproductive and racial justice, health care equity and compassionate common sense would dictate that this community needs more health care support, not less. Pregnant people with limited care access also directly relate to poorer outcomes for the parent and child. It is clear to see how Legacy will financially benefit from decreasing their service to a community with less privately insured patients. It is equally clear to see the cost and suffering of vulnerable populations and health care at large that will come from losing an essential part of East County’s limited health services. Third, the need to retain award-winning “Health Care Heroes”: Legacy Family Birth Centers were recently named 2022′s PDX Parent Magazine’s “ ,” an accolade Legacy proudly promoted. The birth centers’ staff accomplished this despite all the curves COVID-19 and health care constantly throws and are rewarded by having one of the centers closed? Having worked side-by-side with these folks, I can attest they are a special, tight-knit group who work tirelessly at their very difficult jobs. While Legacy has said it would seek to keep them, the employees will face new commutes or roles. In some cases, they are leaving the profession altogether. Otherwise, their new employment prospects are other metro-area hospitals who will be lucky to have them. However, these hospitals face other challenges and are rife with tensions over lean staffing models and high patient-to-nurse ratios as evidenced by pickets at Kaiser and Providence earlier this year and the introduction of to require enforceable health care ratios. Legacy nurses seeking to keep the birth center open are asking for supporters to sign a petition, which can be found at . Legacy’s mission statement is “good health for our people, our patients, our communities and our world. Above all we will do the right thing. ” For their employees, the right thing would be keeping their current positions. For the birthing families of East County, the right thing would be preserving equitable access to skilled maternity care. So far it seems Legacy is only doing the “right thing” for their purse strings –certainly not a legacy to be proud of. .