Rochester Regional Health hosted a community forum on May 29, 2026, to discuss the upcoming closure of the Marshall Birthing Center at Newark-Wayne Community Hospital. The closure, driven by a shortage of obstetricians in rural areas and population shifts, will require expectant mothers like Emily Salerno to travel approximately 45 minutes to Rochester General Hospital for delivery. Hospital officials cited national trends showing inadequate OB-GYN supplies, especially in nonmetropolitan regions, and local census data indicating a slight population decline in Wayne County.
Rochester Regional Health hosts a community forum Friday, May 29, 2026 at Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES regarding the upcoming closure of the Marshall Birthing Center at Newark-Wayne Community Hospital .
Newark, N.Y. — Rochester Regional Health leaders hosted a public forum Friday, months ahead of the closure of the Marshall Birthing Center at Newark-Wayne Community Hospital. Emily Salerno's first-born came into the world at the facility in 2018 after what she described as a high-risk pregnancy.
"I developed preeclampsia, which lead to early induction," Salerno said. "I had my daughter at 37 weeks and four days, which is not typical, but it is also not emergent by any means. It could have been. But Newark was able to handle that.
" Baby number two is now just months away, and while Salerno is excited for that moment, she is expecting to have to make the trip to Rochester General Hospital to give birth. I asked her, "Are you at all worried about having to make that drive under those circumstances? 40-50 minutes, potentially?
" "I am a little bit," Salerno replied. "My husband is in the Army Reserves, and he's due to go away sometime in those couple weeks leading up to my birth, and I don't know who I'm going to get to make that 45 minute drive. "Dr. Marcy Mulconry, the hospital's executive director for women's health, elaborated on the challenge. "In general, we're seeing overall the population shift in rural communities as a whole," Mulconry said.
"And so the OB-GYNs, who are perhaps coming out of residency and younger, are also choosing more urban areas to live. "by the National Institute of Health says, "By 2035, all but six states are projected to experience inadequate supplies of ob-gyns, with a particularly severe shortfall in nonmetropolitan areas. " Census data shows a slight decline in Wayne County's population in recent years, from 93,772 in 2010, to 91,283 in 2020.
Hospital leaders also note a declining birth-rate at the hospital level:Michael Rulffes, the hospital's president and CEO, said the hospital is also projecting a significant increase in the Finger Lakes region's 65 and older population by 2040. In all, several factors deciding the birthing center's fate.
"We've been very transparent about the trends we're seeing in the community," Rulffes said ahead of the meeting. "These are very difficult things to overcome. It's important to highlight, it's not a financial issue, right? This truly comes down to our ability to recruit physicians that we need to sustain and provide that hospital with the appropriate clinical care.
" Hospital leaders also said they're planning to work with about 37 staff members who will be impacted by the change, in hopes of finding ways they can stay on. The rescue operation took place near the highest point of the ride, which is the tallest roller coaster on the pier. A driver who led troopers on a chase across Rochester died Friday morning in a fiery crash in the Maplewood neighborhood, according to New York State Police. Farmington, N.Y.
— An eastbound portion of the New York State Thruway in Ontario County shut down following a crash Friday morning. The deputy accused the driver of violating Florida’s wireless communications while driving law by using a handheld device behind the wheel.
Rochester Regional Health Marshall Birthing Center Newark-Wayne Community Hospital Obstetrician Shortage Rural Healthcare
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