Health Foundation awards $100,000 grant to Cattaraugus County provider to boost rural maternal health services

The funds, awarded to Universal Primary Care, feed into a larger fundraising effort that would allow the health center leaders to “reimagine how they staff and support the OB/GYN service line,” the Health Foundation said in a recent news release.

Universal Primary Care, like many health providers, is struggling with staffing. In particular, the health center employs just one full-time OB/GYN – which heightens provider burnout and risks Universal Primary Care being unable to meet the need for maternal and reproductive health services in the community.

“Our ability to help meet patient needs, especially for pregnant women, at critical times and close to their homes is in jeopardy,” Universal Primary Care CEO Brett Lawton said. “We want to preserve access to women’s health care right here in our community. This support from the Health Foundation is extremely helpful and timely to help us preserve and grow access to critical women’s health services.”

As rural health care has come under financial strain, rural hospitals have continued to close maternity units in an effort to shed costs and maintain operational viability. Last June, for instance, Wyoming County Community Health System closed its maternal/obstetrics program amid financial concerns as well as lower annual birth volume. After that closure, pregnant people in Wyoming County were expected to deliver at either United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia, about 25 miles away, or at a hospital in the Buffalo market.