Hospital appeal extended

SHARON — The state Office of Health Strategy granted Sharon Hospital an extension to Oct. 18 to appeal the agency’s proposed final decision to deny an application to close the labor and delivery unit. 

The hospital and its parent company Nuvance Health are expected to file a brief and exceptions related to its application for a Certificate of Need to close the hospital’s Labor and Delivery Unit, citing financial concerns, declining birth rates in Litchfield County and underutilization of its obstetrics unit.

The state’s decision was issued on Aug. 29, when the hospital and its parent were granted 21 days  to file a brief and exceptions related to the application filed in January 2022.

An appeal would continue a five-year battle between Sharon Hospital and members of the local community, led by Save Sharon Hospital, over maintaining the hospital’s labor and delivery services. 

The hospital, which has cited losses of more than $20 million in a single year, estimated that closing the maternity unit would save $3 million in large part by enabling the hospital to employ some 18 fewer staff members, and cut down on physician fees incurred by after-hours surgery and anesthesia services.