MedStar Washington Hospital Center eliminated 11 postpartum beds on July 26, slashing capacity at the hospital that delivers roughly one in three babies born in Washington, D.C.
The closure of Unit 5F reduced the hospital's postpartum capacity from two units to one, leaving 18 beds. Eight nurses were reassigned to other departments. In the week before the July 26 shutdown, nurses walked out during their lunch break to protest the decision, NBC4 Washington reported.
Nurse Averie Foster told NBC4 the hospital had already been placed on diversion more than 17 times in 2026 before the cut, meaning it turned away patients because no beds were available. "We don't know where these patients who come in to have these babies are gonna go, where they're going to be waiting or how long they're waiting," Foster said.
Foster told NBC4 that the labor and delivery unit cannot accept new patients until postpartum beds open up, so losing 11 beds directly limits how many mothers can be admitted for delivery.
Nurses cite maternal mortality concerns
María Ramírez, a nurse at the hospital, told Spanish-language newspaper El Tiempo Latino on Aug. 24 that the closure puts high-risk pregnancies in greater danger. She said many Hispanic patients travel to MedStar Washington Hospital Center from Montgomery County and Prince George's County in Maryland, not just from the District, and will feel the impact.
Ramírez added that the community already fears going to hospitals because of immigration enforcement, and that seeing a historically inclusive hospital close its doors is, in her words, very worrying.
The District's maternal health numbers underscore the stakes. D.C.'s maternal mortality rate stands at 28.2 deaths per 100,000 births, compared to the national rate of 23.5, according to the March of Dimes 2025 report card using 2019–2023 data. The District's severe maternal morbidity rate is 132.8 per 10,000 hospital deliveries, versus 93.1 nationally. All maternal health indicators in D.C. worsened from the prior year.
Medicaid covered 3,416 births in the District in 2024, representing 45.1% of all live births.
MedStar cites financial pressure
In a statement to NBC4, MedStar cited increasing financial pressures from Medicaid changes and declining District birth rates as justification for consolidating services. Spokesperson So Young Pak told El Tiempo Latino that consolidating postpartum services allows the hospital to match resources with current patient volumes more efficiently.
Hospital officials said their commitment to local families "has not changed at all."
National Nurses United, the union representing registered nurses at the facility, has demanded MedStar reverse the decision. No response from the D.C. Council, the D.C. Department of Health, or the mayor's office has been reported.
The closure is already in effect. No regulatory review is required for a postpartum unit consolidation in the District.
