Urban Maternity Ward Closures Illustrate Suburban Flight

A recent OBGYN closure in Minneapolis, MN, brings attention to the problem that also plagues rural maternity care: maternity care providers are pouring their money into whiter, wealthier suburbs while abandoning urban and rural patients. Haugen OBGYN announced that it would close its downtown Minneapolis Clinic at the end of May, citing a decreased patient population due to changes to the city following the COVID-19 pandemic. Haugen will keep its clinics open in wealthy Minneapolis suburbs, Edina and Plymouth. Despite Haugen’s claims, the residential population increased by 3.7% in 2024, increasing for the third year in a row. Read more about the Haugen closure here.

The Haugen closure is emblematic of the larger pattern of urban hospital closures; in the last decade, 17 obstetrics departments have closed in Los Angeles County. These obstetrics departments are often in non-profit hospitals designed to provide charity care to underserved populations; their closures leave low-income communities and communities of color behind, forcing them to travel great distances and restricting them with financial barriers. Ultimately, hospital networks are choosing to flee to wealthier, whiter suburbs where they can make more money and compete more directly with big, for-profit hospital networks, leaving expectant families floundering with few options. Read more here.