By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV

“It’s like a dagger,” says Lewis County Commissioner Agnes Queen, referencing Vandalia’s announced closure of the labor and delivery unit at Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital (SJMH). 

“We’re not gonna have an OB (obstetrics) unit? Not having that option here is detrimental.”

Asked how and when she was informed about the decision, Queen said, “Just recently, via social media. No one told me. I found out via social media.”

Queen said she did receive a call from the hospital administrator after the fact. “She tried to explain some things.” 

‘That was all we knew’ 

Vandalia acquired SJMH in September 2022 as part of its merger with Mon Health. At that time, Vandalia CEO Dave Ramsey said, “Our decades of high-quality, nationally recognized programs and services are now brought together to continue our efforts to reduce costs, enhance access, and improve outcomes for the communities we serve. We will continue our legacy of service and renowned care delivery as a collaborative system of care.” 

Then, in a press release on March 26, Vandalia’s public relations team announced, “Vandalia Health Mon Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital will no longer offer obstetrics delivery services effective May 1, 2026. This was a difficult decision made with the best interests of our patients and community in mind.”

It came as a surprise to Commissioner Queen. 

“Recently, I was in a meeting (with them) and they talked about staff retention issues. That was all we knew.” 

Vandalia previously announced the closure of the Greenbrier Valley Medical Center labor and delivery unit in a similar press release last fall. That unit is set to close on April 24, despite community pushback. 

Vandalia cited a declining population, lower birth rates, and difficulty recruiting obstetrics providers as reasons for the closure both at GVMC and SJMH. 

“This decision follows ongoing challenges with recruiting full-time clinical staff and declining birth rates in the region, which have made it difficult to sustain obstetrics delivery services locally,” the release stated. “Our clinical team is contacting all obstetrical patients to coordinate individualized plans and ensure continuity of care with nearby hospitals, including WVU St. Joseph’s Hospital, WVU Camden Clark Medical Center, and Vandalia Health Davis Medical Center.”

“Mon Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital plans to provide gynecological, prenatal, and postpartum care and is working toward that goal. While we have had to make the difficult decision to close obstetrics services, this is not a reflection of our commitment to providing hospital services to the community. We remain committed to building a new facility and providing both inpatient and outpatient care.”

Queen worries this decision does communicate the wrong message to the community. “This closure has really affected the community’s trust and belief in the hospital system. I worry we’re going to lose good staff because they’re concerned also. Every new owner comes in and tells us they’re going to get us a new hospital, but it never happens. What’s next? It’s scary.” 

Vandalia announces organizational restructuring

Vandalia announced a formal restructuring last week, creating two divisions within the nonprofit health care provider in West Virginia. 

Dave Ramsey, CEO, and Jeff Sandene, incoming President of Vandalia, explained the restructuring to their 14,000 employees this way in a letter: 

“Effective immediately, Vandalia Health will be restructured to create two distinct divisions: the CAMC Division and the Regional Hospital Division. The CAMC Division will encompass CAMC Charleston Surgical Hospital, CAMC Memorial Hospital, CAMC General Hospital, CAMC Teays Valley Hospital, and CAMC Women’s and Children’s Hospital. The Regional Hospital Division will include Broaddus Hospital, CAMC Greenbrier Valley Hospital, CAMC Plateau Medical Center, Davis Medical Center, Mon Harrison Hospital, Mon Marion Hospital, Mon Medical Center, Mon Preston Memorial Hospital, Mon Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital, and Webster Springs Hospital. Additionally, the Regional Hospital Division will oversee management of Grafton Community Hospital, Minnie Hamilton Hospital, and Highland Clarksburg Hospital. Ambulatory services will also align with the regions as laid out here.”

Will the changes preserve patient access or further remove it? 

Jessica Dobrinsky, Chief of Staff at the Cardinal Institute, a conservative-leaning nonprofit think tank that supports the removal of the Certificate of Need process, explained the move candidly as part of her Substack, which follows health care decisions in West Virginia. 

“By separating its hospitals into a flagship division and a regional division, Vandalia is not simply reducing administrative layers. It defines how resources, services, and decisions will be allocated across the system,” Dobrinsky writes. 

“In rural and regional hospitals, services such as labor and delivery, behavioral health, and certain inpatient care lines are difficult to sustain. They require continuous staffing, specialized personnel, and infrastructure that does not scale easily with volume. When financial pressure increases—whether from rising costs, staffing constraints, or reimbursement changes—these services are most likely to be reduced or consolidated.”

She points to the OB closures in Greenbrier and Lewis counties as examples, arguing that Vandalia’s removal of access to care is likely to continue as sustainability of the hospital system is prioritized over patient access to care. 

“A system optimized for financial stability will allocate resources to sustainable services and locations. A system optimized for access will maintain services even when they are not. The hospitals in Vandalia’s regional division sit at the center. They are the facilities most essential to local access—and the ones operating under the greatest financial constraints. The structure makes that tradeoff explicit. It does not resolve the underlying issue.”

RealWV asked Vandalia’s public relations team whether additional OB closures were expected. No response was received immediately.