A rural Oregon town lost its maternity ward. As Trump’s Medicaid cuts loom, other hospitals may be next

health • 9/17/2025

Most Oregon hospitals have been bleeding cash for years, and at least two are already set to close their obstetrics units.

It was the middle of the night on April 2, 2024, when Teela Banister went into labor. She and her husband raced out the door of their rural home on the outskirts of Baker City in Eastern Oregon, hoping to make the hourlong journey to a hospital befor... [17772 chars]