I’m Kathryn Born from the Dusoma Foundation, here on behalf of the community who is upset with the closure of the Labor and Delivery (L&D) maternity ward at Los Alamos Medical Center (LAMC), scheduled to close on June 30, 2026. This means that when a person goes into labor, the drive will be 1 hour to Santa Fe (more in traffic) or 45 minutes or more to Espanola.
On behalf of the community, I would like to thank Nicole O’Daniel for starting a petition regarding LifePoint (owners of LAMC) and Marie O’Neil of Los Alamos Reporter for writing an article about the petition and sounding the alarm. But I am also here as a person who, 18 years ago, gave birth to my 2nd child in less than 15 minutes. I would not have made it to the hospital in time if it was that far.
Although the closure is the decision of a private company the County does not control, our research shows us that there is a tremendous amount our local government can do about this situation. And we can discuss those options – they range from pressure tactics to subsidizing a competitor to LifePoint.
We have used technology to understand this situation, the challenges, and the opportunity to think creatively and fix this. Los Alamos gives us a unique opportunity to fight effectively – because for once it’s not a lack of money. And I will circle back to that – I will explain in 1 sentence how this fix will pay for itself.
The first thing to establish is that unlike many divisive issues, this one is not. Having a place to die, but not one to be born, is popular with no one. I have not yet met one single person who thinks is a good idea for someone in labor to have to drive an hour, especially through a zone that has no cellular service, and especially after last week’s 6 hour road closure of 502.
This can be an example of how the “secret city” can actually be a “smart city” that figures out the most effective way to get from A to B, for the townspeople. So as we all agree on this, we can all work together.
But allow me 30 more seconds to explain how we are going to pay for this: we are going to help everyone understand how expensive this problem will become. Last week on Reddit, almost every day, someone would read about this – a lack of labor and delivery within our town — and say, “My partner and I are planning on starting a family. I don’t think I’m going to accept this offer from Los Alamos National Laboratories.” This happened 4 days in a row last week
When we think about what a maternity ward costs, and compare it to what could become a PR disaster – I apologize for framing a roadside childbirth tragedy as a PR disaster – but that’s what it would be. It could destroy our county’s reputation for a decade. It’s a massive liability in LANL’s quest to hire 1300 people. And take a moment to consider the financial implications of what it would look like if LANL had 1300 fewer employees one year from today. People who are simply fed up with the commute, the traffic, the healthcare desert, and $30,000 helicopter ride the patient has to pay for. The attrition of this one issue alone has a measurable impact far beyond a few million dollars for a maternity ward.
There are approximately 150 pregnant woman who live in Los Alamos, and more who drive into work and could go into early labor while on campus.
In closing, I will say that there are things we can do to fight LifePoint health, and we DO have the money for it. We just all need to speak with one voice and row in the same direction.
Thank you for letting me comment.