Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hospital staff urge council to help preserve Palmetto General maternity and anesthesia services
Summary
Nurses, physicians and hospital staff told the council their employer has financial concerns after prior ownership declared bankruptcy and warned that maternity and anesthesia services at Palmetto General Hospital are at risk, asking the city for help to preserve local care.
Nurses and physicians from Palmetto General Hospital urged the City Council to consider how the community would be affected if the hospital’s maternity services were curtailed or anesthesia staffing were disrupted.
What hospital staff reported: Victoria Valdez, speaking on behalf of unionized staff, said the hospital’s former owner, Steward, declared bankruptcy and the facility’s current operator, HCA/HSA (referred to in testimony), appears to be “struggling financially.” Valdez told the council Palmetto General provides maternity care, stroke care and other services to roughly 130,000 patients annually and delivered more than 1,400 babies in 2024. “If we were to close our maternity services, which seems imminent, there will be many patients such as myself that will not have a hospital to deliver in due to the fact that my obstetrician only has privileges to deliver here,” Valdez said.
Physician perspective: A doctor who identified himself as a Palmetto physician said he has served the community for 36 years and described the prospect of closure or service reductions as “very sad,” asking the council to become more involved to prevent loss of services. OBGYN Andrea Faraci also described staffing concerns, and physicians urged the council to consider how reduced local maternity capacity would force patients to travel farther for deliveries.
Why it matters: Staff warned that recent closures of maternity units at neighboring hospitals have increased Palmetto’s birth volume and that loss of services at Palmetto would create a care gap in the Hialeah area. Hospital speakers stressed the importance of anesthesia services and continuity of providers to keep surgical and maternity services operating.
Council response and action: Council members thanked staff for their testimony; no formal action was recorded at the meeting. Staff asked the council to consider whether and how the city might support hospital continuity of services; hospital representatives suggested the city and council could explore options.
Ending: Hospital staff asked the council to stay engaged as discussions about ownership, staffing contracts and service lines continue. No closing measures or emergency funding decisions were made at the meeting.
