LA JUNTA, Colo. (KRDO) – Some expecting mothers in southeast Colorado will now be traveling an hour or longer to deliver their babies, after the labor and delivery unit at the Arkansas Valley Regional Medical Center (AVRMC) in La Junta shut down on April 30.
Hospital leaders tell KRDO13 the closure was not one they wanted to make, but they could no longer ignore the loss of about $200,000 per month from the unit. They explain it’s due to low Medicaid reimbursements, which comprise 70% of the unit’s revenue.
Last year, only 110 people delivered babies in the unit.
The CEO of AVRMC previously told KRDO13 that