New arrivals in the ER? Georgia gears up to solve rural maternal health crisis | Chattanooga Times Free Press

In Lavonia, Georgia, the closure of St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital’s obstetrics unit has forced some rural families to plan for long travel to deliver. Kara Holden, preparing for her fourth child, delivered on Oct. 11 at Greenville Memorial Hospital in South Carolina after a more-than-50-mile trip; she and her midwife lined up emergency-room options and packed contingency items in case labor started on the road. The hospital stopped providing obstetric services nearly a year ago, partly tied to Medicaid cuts linked to President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The state is using federal Rural Health Transformation Program funds—more than $12 million of nearly $219 million approved in year one—to place obstetric carts in 43 rural hospitals without labor and delivery units.