An Open Letter to Our Community December 18, 2025 From CEO & President Marty Cahill Regarding the Temporary Pause of OB-GYN Services in Lebanon Pregnancy and childbirth are deeply personal experiences. Feeling safe, supported and confident in your care matters – especially when welcoming a new life. At Samaritan Health Services, the safety of parents and babies has always been – and will always be – our highest priority. Because of that, we want to share an important update with openness, humility and care. Earlier this year, many in our community were understandably concerned about the possibility of the Girod Birth Center at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital (SLCH) closing. Those conversations created fear and uncertainty, and we know some trust was shaken. At that time, no decisions had been made. We listened closely, held more than 70 listening sessions, and in August publicly reaffirmed our commitment to providing labor and delivery services at all five Samaritan hospitals – including here in Lebanon. That commitment has not changed. We are now facing an unplanned and difficult challenge. This fall, all OB-GYN physicians providing care in Lebanon resigned for personal reasons. At the same time, another regional provider made the decision to discontinue OB-GYN services in Corvallis. These changes, combined with the nationwide shortage of OB-GYN physicians, created a sudden and significant loss of coverage across the Valley. Since learning about these departures, our teams have worked urgently to find solutions. We significantly expanded recruitment efforts already underway to include a broad national search, outreach to physician staffing agencies, independent clinicians and temporary coverage options. Despite these efforts, we have not yet been able to secure the physicians needed to safely support deliveries in Lebanon. After careful review – and with nurses, physicians and clinical leaders deeply involved in the discussion – we reached a difficult conclusion. Without continuous, around-the-clock physician coverage, it would not be safe to continue labor and delivery services. Operating on and off, or being on diversion, would mean families would not know when it is safe to come to the hospital. That uncertainty creates real risk for parents, babies and care teams. For that reason, and with patient safety as our guiding principle, labor and delivery services at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital will be temporarily paused beginning January 15, 2026. Outpatient OB-GYN care will continue at the Lebanon Health Center on a limited basis. We are hopeful that temporary clinician staffing may allow deliveries to safely resume as early as April 2026, though this depends on successfully securing coverage. In the meantime, pregnant patients who are anticipating delivery after mid-January should work with their doctor to select a different delivery location. Labor and delivery services at Samaritan’s other hospitals will continue without disruption. We know this news is difficult. During this temporary pause we are taking concrete steps to support families and staff: Providing concierge support to help expectant parents transition care to Albany or Corvallis Ensuring systems and protocols are in place for safe, timely transfers if urgent situations arise Keeping our highly skilled labor and delivery nurses onsite to assist the Emergency Department with any obstetric emergencies Partnering with Oregon Nurses Association to explore temporary staffing solutions and redeployment opportunities for our nurses during this period – no layoffs will occur We also want to be clear about what this is – and what it is not. This is not a closure of the Girod Birth Center. It is not a reversal of our commitment to Lebanon, and it is not related to earlier consolidation discussions or the proposed affiliation. This pause is temporary and based solely on patient safety and the current workforce reality. We remain fully committed to restoring labor and delivery services in Lebanon as soon as it is safe for us to do so. In the meantime, pregnant patients should plan to use the birth centers in Albany or Corvallis. We will continue to provide updates and share progress as we work toward restoring labor and delivery services. For more information and FAQs, please visit samhealth.org/LebanonOB-GYN. Thank you for the trust you place in us. We know trust is earned through actions, not words – and we are committed to demonstrating that every day. With sincerity, Marty Cahill President & CEO Samaritan Health Services
