Jackson South maternity unit shuts down weeks early, sparking concerns in southern Miami-Dade
A Jackson Memorial Hospital System spokesperson said the date was moved up because of staffing levels in a statement sent to CBS News Miami:
"The maternity unit at Jackson South Medical Center will close on August 15 as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure the highest standards of patient care and safety. We have experienced ongoing staffing challenges, including frequent call-outs and nurses transferring to other positions, which have made it increasingly difficult to maintain safe staffing levels. In addition, all patients who were scheduled to deliver at the hospital have done so, and elective procedures have stopped, reducing demand for this service.
The staff assigned to the labor and delivery unit at Jackson South included 20 nurses. We are committed to ensuring that every team member impacted by this closure has the opportunity to transition into a new position within Jackson, and we're pleased that the majority of our team members have selected alternative roles in the health system. While we're still in the process of finalizing reassignments, 17 nurses so far have been reassigned to other positions at Jackson South, Holtz Children's Hospital and the Women's Hospital at Jackson Memorial, and in other locations throughout the system, and three nurses are pending reassignments."
Women's healthcare advocates have spoken out against the move and said the area already lacks maternal care.
"I don't think they're doing justice to our community," said Wendolyn Marte.
Marte is a certified birth doula and owner of Mars Doula, where she helps expecting mothers through childbirth. A few weeks ago she helped with one of the last deliveries at Jackson South.
"It's upsetting; it lets us know that women are not being prioritized—their health isn't, their well-being, families, it's not," Marte said.
The hospital announced last month the maternity ward would close because demand continued to drop, reporting 495 babies delivered at Jackson South in 2024 and a 12 percent decline in total births in the service area.
In a memo, hospital leadership said the 23 patient rooms and two operating rooms in the unit would be better suited for other in-demand services like cardiology, interventional radiology and colorectal surgery.
It was initially set to close in September.
"You're looking at higher infant mortality if you don't have accessibility, higher maternal [mortality] if you don't have access to it something can happen, your NICU's are going to be full," Marte said.
Marte said access to maternal health care in Southern Miami-Dade County is already limited and this makes it worse.
Jackson South mainly serves Palmetto Bay, Richmond Heights and surrounding areas.
It's now directing expecting mothers to Jackson Memorial and Jackson North, each at least 20 miles further.
"I tell all my clients even if your main hospital is like 45 minutes away and you're willing to drive that for labor, do that, but if there is an emergency, you should have somewhere that's no more than 15-20 minutes away," Marte said.
CBS News Miami requested an interview with hospital leadership multiple times, but the hospital declined.
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