Several Southwest Virginia hospitals have closed their labor-and-delivery units in recent years, leaving expectant mothers with longer drives for care — and health leaders warn those extra miles can have serious consequences.
Crystal Fink, a licensed midwife at Roanoke Birth and Perinatal Center, remembers when options were plentiful.
“When I first started attending births, you could have a baby in Bedford Hospital. You could have a baby in Franklin Memorial. You could go to Montgomery Regional. You could go to Martinsville,” Fink said…