Sep 16, 2026 · 15 min · 10 segments
What happens when leaders decide that maternal care belongs in their community — and commit to making it work? In this special Advancing Health podcast series, hear how rural hospital leaders are…
There's one way we all come into this world.
And the safest and best way to do that is in a hospital.
And so it is so important that we preserve rural obstetrical care.
For us, it's not just been about preserving.
It's been about growing and thriving and to do the right thing in the face of adversity.
It's an agricultural community with three stoplights, where a traffic jam means you're waiting behind an Amish buggy.
In just the past few years, six hospitals in her region have closed their labor and delivery departments.
Workforce shortages, financial pressures, and declining birth volumes have created extraordinary challenges for rural hospitals.
We set out to better understand how rural hospitals are sustaining maternal care in the face of these challenges.
It's a commitment to the families they serve and an investment in the future of their communities.
Welcome to Frontiers, a new podcast series from the American Hospital Association.
Throughout this series, we'll
explore how rural hospitals across the country are working to sustain maternal care in their communities through committed leadership, workforce innovation, and regional collaboration.
Our story begins with the leaders who make the choice to invest in maternal care, even when the path forward isn't easy.
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There's one way we all come into this world.
And the safest and best way to do that is in a hospital.
And so it is so important that we preserve rural obstetrical care.
For us, it's not just been about preserving.
It's been about growing and thriving and to do the right thing in the face of adversity.
It's an agricultural community with three stoplights, where a traffic jam means you're waiting behind an Amish buggy.
In just the past few years, six hospitals in her region have closed their labor and delivery departments.
Workforce shortages, financial pressures, and declining birth volumes have created extraordinary challenges for rural hospitals.
We set out to better understand how rural hospitals are sustaining maternal care in the face of these challenges.
It's a commitment to the families they serve and an investment in the future of their communities.
Welcome to Frontiers, a new podcast series from the American Hospital Association.
Throughout this series, we'll
explore how rural hospitals across the country are working to sustain maternal care in their communities through committed leadership, workforce innovation, and regional collaboration.
Our story begins with the leaders who make the choice to invest in maternal care, even when the path forward isn't easy.
