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Kotek cites state intervention that reopened Legacy Mount Hood birth center and pressed Saint Alphonsus in Baker City
Summary
Governor Kotek said the state intervened after Legacy Mount Hood announced plans to close its family birth center in 2023 and that she personally contacted Saint Alphonsus in Baker City when that hospital announced it would close the county's only maternity unit.
Governor Kotek pointed to two recent state interventions she said prevented or delayed local maternity-unit closures. "In 2023, Legacy Mount Hood announced plans to close its family birth center. My administration stepped in, and those services reopened 90 days later," she said, describing the reopening as an example of state action to maintain local services.
Kotek also said she "picked up the phone when Saint Alphonsus in Baker City announced it would close the only maternity unit in the county," and that she worked with local leaders to press for more time, answers and a plan for families in Eastern Oregon. The recording does not include statements from the hospitals or local officials, and it does not provide administrative details about what steps the state took to secure the reopening or the resulting timeline for Baker City.
