Georgia plans to place obstetric emergency carts in 43 rural hospitals that no longer deliver babies, using more than $12 million in federal rural health funding, KFF Health News reported on October 21. The carts are meant to help emergency room staff handle sudden births and pregnancy emergencies when the nearest delivery unit is far away.
The plan reflects a hard reality for rural families. Only 36% of Georgia's rural hospitals have a labor and delivery unit, and four rural units have closed since 2020, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. Most of the state's counties have no labor and delivery unit at all.
