Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Prineville announced plans Wednesday to stop delivering babies by the end of the year, meaning outside of the emergency room, babies will no longer be born at the hospital.

Don Wee, hospital CEO, said a shortage of family practice physicians in the area led to the decision. With three out of the area’s four physicians either moving out of the area or wanting to get out of obstetrics, coupled with difficulty recruiting doctors, Wee said there was no other choice.

“It’s a supply and demand issue,” he said.

Once the obstetric services are completely phased out, women will have to travel to Bend, about 35 miles away, or Redmond, a 20-mile trip, or the Madras hospital, 30 miles away, to deliver. The hospital in John Day, nearly 150 miles from Prineville, could also be an option for those living east of Prineville. Wee said he did not know of any midwives or nurses in the area who handle at-home deliveries.

Pioneer Memorial may continue providing prenatal care to ease the burden for pregnant women.

“We’re starting those conversations with physicians in Bend, Redmond, Madras to establish something of that nature,” he said.

The shortage of primary care physicians is a nationwide problem, according to a news release from Cascade Healthcare Community, which operates the Prineville hospital and owns St. Charles in Bend and Redmond.

In the next 10 years, the American Academy of Family Physicians projects a shortage of more than 40,000 primary care physicians.

“Until we tackle the whole global issue, I think these kinds of issues will dog rural communities for a while,” Wee said.

Crook County Judge Mike McCabe said he’s ready for some good news to come out of Crook County. Although he understands the reasons behind the decision, he’s disappointed. He said it will make life more difficult for some.

“We’re leading the state in unemployment … the school (district) is not too well off financially, and the county budget had to take a cut,” he said. “So, it’s just this piling on concept. When does it end? It seems like one little hardship after another, and people do get weary of it all.”

Wee said the situation was a “perfect storm” of sorts, with the physicians all deciding in a short period of time to leave or get out of the business.

“We’ve had turnover, but we’ve never had this situation where in the next six months, we’ll lose all three (physicians),” he said.

For the fourth obstetrician, who would like to continue the services, it’s not sustainable.

“You can’t be on call 365 days a year by yourself,” Wee said.

Pioneer Memorial Hospital had a record 172 births in 2007, according to information from Cascade Healthcare. In 2008, 137 babies worn born at the hospital.

Wee said about 50 percent of pregnant women living in the area already travel to Bend or Redmond to give birth.

“Some people are already making that trip,” he said. “It’s not a happy decision we’re looking at, but at this point we’re doing the right thing.”

He hopes to continue recruiting and eventually offer obstetric services at the hospital in the future.

“If we can re-evaluate and bring it back online, that’s what we will attempt to do,” Wee said.