Latest news with #Stateline
Miami Herald
7 days ago
- Health
- Miami Herald
‘Expensive and complicated': Most rural hospitals no longer deliver babies
Nine months after Monroe County Hospital in rural South Alabama closed its labor and delivery department in October 2023, Grove Hill Memorial Hospital in neighboring Clarke County also stopped delivering babies. Both hospitals are located in an agricultural swath of the state that's home to most of its poorest counties. Many residents of the region don't even have a nearby emergency department. Stacey Gilchrist is a nurse and administrator who's spent her 40-year career in Thomasville, a small town about 20 minutes north of Grove Hill. Thomasville's hospital shut down entirely last September over financial difficulties. Thomasville Regional hadn't had a labor and delivery unit for years, but women in labor still showed up at its ER when they knew they wouldn't make it to the nearest delivering hospital. "We had several close calls where people could not make it even to Grove Hill when they were delivering there," Gilchrist told Stateline shortly after the Thomasville hospital closed. She recalled how Thomasville nurses worked to save the lives of a mother and baby who'd delivered early in their ER, as staff waited for neonatal specialists to arrive by ambulance from a distant delivering hospital. "It would give you chills to see what all they had to do. They had to get inventive," she said, but the mother and baby survived. Now many families must drive more than an hour to reach the nearest birthing hospital. Nationwide, most rural hospitals no longer offer obstetric services. Since the end of 2020, more than 100 rural hospitals have stopped delivering babies, according to a new report from the Center for Healthcare Quality & Payment Reform, a national policy center focused on solving health care issues through overhauling insurance payments. Fewer than 1,000 rural hospitals nationwide still have labor and delivery services. Across the nation, two rural labor and delivery departments shut their doors every month on average, said Harold Miller, the center's president and CEO. "It's the perfect storm," Miller told Stateline. "The number of births are going down, everything is more expensive in rural areas, health insurance plans don't cover the cost of births, and hospitals don't have the resources to offset those losses because they're losing money on other services, too." Staffing shortages, low Medicaid reimbursement payments and declining birth rates have contributed to the closures. Some states have responded by changing how Medicaid funds are spent, by allowing the opening of freestanding birth centers, or by encouraging urban-based obstetricians to open satellite clinics in rural areas. Yet the losses continue. Thirty-six states have lost at least one rural labor and delivery unit since the end of 2020, according to the report. Sixteen have lost three or more. Indiana has lost 12, accounting for a third of its rural hospital labor and delivery units. In rural counties the loss of hospital-based obstetric care is associated with increases in births in hospital emergency rooms, studies have found. The share of women without adequate prenatal care also increases in rural counties that lose hospital obstetric services. And researchers have seen an increase in preterm births - when a baby is born three or more weeks early - following rural labor and delivery closures. Babies born too early have higher rates of death and disability. Births are expensive The decline in hospital-based maternity care has been decades in the making. Traditionally, hospitals lose money on obstetrics. It costs more to maintain a labor and delivery department than a hospital gets paid by insurance to deliver a baby. This is especially true for rural hospitals, which see fewer births and therefore less revenue than urban areas. "It is expensive and complicated for any hospital to have labor and delivery because it's a 24/7 service," said Miller. A labor and delivery unit must always have certain staff available or on call, including a physician who can perform cesarean sections, nurses with obstetric training, and an anesthetist for C-sections and labor pain management. "There's a minimum fixed cost you incur (as a hospital) to have all of that, regardless of how many births there are," Miller said. In most cases, insurers don't pay hospitals to maintain that standby capacity; they're paid per birth. Hospitals cover their losses on obstetrics with revenue they get from more lucrative services. For a larger urban hospital with thousands of births a year, the fixed costs might be manageable. For smaller rural hospitals, they're much harder to justify. Some have had to jettison their obstetric services just to keep the doors open. "You can't subsidize a losing service when you don't have profit coming in from other services," Miller said. And staffing is a persistent problem. Harrison County Hospital in Corydon, Indiana, a small town on the border with Kentucky, ended its obstetric services in March after hospital leaders said they were unable to recruit an obstetric provider. It was the only delivering hospital in the county, averaging about 400 births a year. And most providers don't want to remain on call 24/7, a particular problem in rural regions that might have just one or two physicians trained in obstetrics. In many rural areas, family physicians with obstetrical training fill the role of both obstetricians and general practitioners. Ripple effects Even before Harrison County Hospital suspended its obstetrical services, some patients were already driving more than 30 minutes for care, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported. The closure means the drive could be 50 minutes to reach a hospital with a labor and delivery department, or to see providers for prenatal visits. Longer drive times can be risky, resulting in more scheduled inductions and C-sections because families are scared to risk going into labor naturally and then facing a harrowing hourlong drive to the hospital. Having fewer labor and delivery units could further burden ambulance services already stretched thin in rural areas. And hospitals often serve as a hub for other maternity-related services that help keep mothers and babies healthy. "Other things we've seen in rural counties that have hospital-based OB care is that you're more likely to have other supportive things, like maternal mental health support, postpartum groups, lactation support, access to doula care and midwifery services," said Katy Kozhimannil, a professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, whose research focuses in part on maternal health policy with a focus on rural communities. State action Medicaid, the state-federal public insurance for people with low incomes, pays for nearly half of all births in rural areas nationwide. And women who live in rural communities and small towns are more likely to be covered by Medicaid than women in metro areas. Experts say one way to save rural labor and delivery in many places would be to bump up Medicaid payments. As congressional Republicans debate President Donald Trump's tax and spending plan, they're considering which portions of Medicaid to slash to help pay for the bill's tax cuts. Maternity services aren't on the chopping block. But if Congress reduces federal funding for some portions of Medicaid, states - and hospitals - will have to figure out how to offset that loss. The ripple effects could translate into less money for rural hospitals overall, meaning some may no longer be able to afford labor and delivery services. "Cuts to Medicaid are going to be felt disproportionately in rural areas where Medicaid makes up a higher proportion of labor and delivery and for services in general," Kozhimannil said. "It is a hugely important payer at rural hospitals, and for birth in particular." And though private insurers often pay more than Medicaid for birth services, Miller believes states shouldn't let companies off the hook. "The data shows that in many cases, commercial insurance plans operating in a state are not paying adequately for labor and delivery," Miller said. "Hospitals will tell you it's not just Medicaid; it's also commercial insurance." He'd like to see state insurance regulators pressure private insurance to pay more. More than 40% of births in rural communities are covered by private insurance. Yet there's no one magic bullet that will fix every rural hospital's bottom line, Miller said: "For every hospital I've talked to, it's been a different set of circumstances." _____ _____ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Health groups urge insurers to cover COVID-19 shots for pregnant women
A pharmacist fills a syringe with the Pfizer COVID-19 booster vaccination at a booster shot clinic in October 2021 in San Rafael, Calif. Thirty prominent professional health organizations signed an open letter urging insurers to continue covering vaccinations during pregnancy. () This story originally appeared on Stateline. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is urging insurers to continue covering vaccinations during pregnancy in an open letter signed by 30 prominent professional health organizations. Pregnant patients and their infants are vulnerable to complications from COVID-19. In the letter to payers and insurance companies released this week, ACOG stressed the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccinations and how they protect babies and pregnant people. It was signed by prominent professional groups including the American College of Physicians, Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Public Health Association. The letter follows U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to eliminate the recommendation for COVID-19 vaccinations for healthy children and healthy pregnant patients, sidestepping an established decision process by scientists. Kennedy, who has made false claims questioning vaccine safety, earlier this week fired all 17 experts on the federal vaccine advisory committee panel, replacing them with eight new members, four of whom have spoken out against vaccines. The Trump administration's moves have alarmed health experts, who worry about coverage and access to the shot amid the agency's dismissal of science. 'We are deeply concerned about the recently adopted HHS policy to no longer recommend COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy,' the letter reads. 'Given the historic gaps in research, investment, and support for women's health, it is essential that all aspects of obstetric and gynecologic care — including COVID-19 vaccination — be grounded in the best available scientific evidence. Studies have shown babies born following a COVID-19 infection during pregnancy have a higher risk of low birth weights, stillbirth and respiratory distress, and data demonstrates the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Pregnant women who contract COVID-19 are also at higher risk of complications such as blood clots, are more likely to be hospitalized in intensive care units or to need ventilators, and are at a higher risk of death, the letter notes. Payers should make the vaccine available to 'pregnant people without undue utilization management or cost-sharing requirements,' the letter reads. Without insurance, a Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 shot can cost roughly $140 for adults. Following the recommendation rollback, public health officials in some states have emphasized their support of COVID-19 vaccines. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services, for example, said it 'continues to recommend the current COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy and for every person 6 months and older,' noting that newborns 'depend on maternal antibodies from the vaccine for protection.' Wisconsin Medicaid will also continue to cover the shot, the department said in a media release. Officials in Georgia also said they expect continued coverage of the shot. In Washington, a spokesperson for the state health agency told local media that the department is advising pregnant people to speak with their provider 'to determine if receiving a COVID-19 vaccine is best for them.' During this year's legislative sessions, at least seven states introduced legislation aiming to ban or limit mRNA vaccines. Instead of using a weakened or dead version of the actual virus to stimulate an immune response, mRNA vaccines use a genetic code created in a laboratory to tell the body's cells to produce a protein that triggers an immune response. The Pfizer-BioNTech and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines use mRNA technology. 'The COVID vaccines were a remarkable scientific accomplishment, and they remain the best tool that we have to prevent severe outcomes associated with COVID infection,' Dr. Steven J. Fleischman, ACOG president, wrote in a statement. 'Ob-gyns know that COVID infection during pregnancy can be incredibly dangerous for our pregnant patients — and we know that the vaccine can protect both them and their infants after birth.' When patients are 'forced to pay out of pocket, or to cover high cost sharing,' he wrote, 'they are less likely to be able to protect themselves, their families, and their communities.' Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@ Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'Expensive and complicated': Most rural hospitals no longer deliver babies
Jun. 11—Nine months after Monroe County Hospital in rural South Alabama closed its labor and delivery department in October 2023, Grove Hill Memorial Hospital in neighboring Clarke County also stopped delivering babies. Both hospitals are located in an agricultural swath of the state that's home to most of its poorest counties. Many residents of the region don't even have a nearby emergency department. Stacey Gilchrist is a nurse and administrator who's spent her 40-year career in Thomasville, a small town about 20 minutes north of Grove Hill. Thomasville's hospital shut down entirely last September over financial difficulties. Thomasville Regional hadn't had a labor and delivery unit for years, but women in labor still showed up at its ER when they knew they wouldn't make it to the nearest delivering hospital. "We had several close calls where people could not make it even to Grove Hill when they were delivering there," Gilchrist told Stateline shortly after the Thomasville hospital closed. She recalled how Thomasville nurses worked to save the lives of a mother and baby who'd delivered early in their ER, as staff waited for neonatal specialists to arrive by ambulance from a distant delivering hospital. "It would give you chills to see what all they had to do. They had to get inventive," she said, but the mother and baby survived. Now many families must drive more than an hour to reach the nearest birthing hospital. Nationwide, most rural hospitals no longer offer obstetric services. Since the end of 2020, more than 100 rural hospitals have stopped delivering babies, according to a new report from the Center for Healthcare Quality & Payment Reform, a national policy center focused on solving health care issues through overhauling insurance payments. Fewer than 1,000 rural hospitals nationwide still have labor and delivery services. Across the nation, two rural labor and delivery departments shut their doors every month on average, said Harold Miller, the center's president and CEO. "It's the perfect storm," Miller told Stateline. "The number of births are going down, everything is more expensive in rural areas, health insurance plans don't cover the cost of births, and hospitals don't have the resources to offset those losses because they're losing money on other services, too." Staffing shortages, low Medicaid reimbursement payments and declining birth rates have contributed to the closures. Some states have responded by changing how Medicaid funds are spent, by allowing the opening of freestanding birth centers, or by encouraging urban-based obstetricians to open satellite clinics in rural areas. Yet the losses continue. Thirty-six states have lost at least one rural labor and delivery unit since the end of 2020, according to the report. Sixteen have lost three or more. Indiana has lost 12, accounting for a third of its rural hospital labor and delivery units. In rural counties the loss of hospital-based obstetric care is associated with increases in births in hospital emergency rooms, studies have found. The share of women without adequate prenatal care also increases in rural counties that lose hospital obstetric services. And researchers have seen an increase in preterm births — when a baby is born three or more weeks early — following rural labor and delivery closures. Babies born too early have higher rates of death and disability. Births are expensive The decline in hospital-based maternity care has been decades in the making. Traditionally, hospitals lose money on obstetrics. It costs more to maintain a labor and delivery department than a hospital gets paid by insurance to deliver a baby. This is especially true for rural hospitals, which see fewer births and therefore less revenue than urban areas. "It is expensive and complicated for any hospital to have labor and delivery because it's a 24/7 service," said Miller. A labor and delivery unit must always have certain staff available or on call, including a physician who can perform cesarean sections, nurses with obstetric training, and an anesthetist for C-sections and labor pain management. You can't subsidize a losing service when you don't have profit coming in from other services. — Harold Miller, president and CEO of the Center for Healthcare Quality & Payment Reform "There's a minimum fixed cost you incur [as a hospital] to have all of that, regardless of how many births there are," Miller said. In most cases, insurers don't pay hospitals to maintain that standby capacity; they're paid per birth. Hospitals cover their losses on obstetrics with revenue they get from more lucrative services. For a larger urban hospital with thousands of births a year, the fixed costs might be manageable. For smaller rural hospitals, they're much harder to justify. Some have had to jettison their obstetric services just to keep the doors open. "You can't subsidize a losing service when you don't have profit coming in from other services," Miller said. And staffing is a persistent problem. Harrison County Hospital in Corydon, Indiana, a small town on the border with Kentucky, ended its obstetric services in March after hospital leaders said they were unable to recruit an obstetric provider. It was the only delivering hospital in the county, averaging about 400 births a year. And most providers don't want to remain on call 24/7, a particular problem in rural regions that might have just one or two physicians trained in obstetrics. In many rural areas, family physicians with obstetrical training fill the role of both obstetricians and general practitioners. Ripple effects Even before Harrison County Hospital suspended its obstetrical services, some patients were already driving more than 30 minutes for care, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported. The closure means the drive could be 50 minutes to reach a hospital with a labor and delivery department, or to see providers for prenatal visits. Longer drive times can be risky, resulting in more scheduled inductions and C-sections because families are scared to risk going into labor naturally and then facing a harrowing hourlong drive to the hospital. Having fewer labor and delivery units could further burden ambulance services already stretched thin in rural areas. And hospitals often serve as a hub for other maternity-related services that help keep mothers and babies healthy. "Other things we've seen in rural counties that have hospital-based OB care is that you're more likely to have other supportive things, like maternal mental health support, postpartum groups, lactation support, access to doula care and midwifery services," said Katy Kozhimannil, a professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, whose research focuses in part on maternal health policy with a focus on rural communities. State action Medicaid, the state-federal public insurance for people with low incomes, pays for nearly half of all births in rural areas nationwide. And women who live in rural communities and small towns are more likely to be covered by Medicaid than women in metro areas. Experts say one way to save rural labor and delivery in many places would be to bump up Medicaid payments. As congressional Republicans debate President Donald Trump's tax and spending plan, they're considering which portions of Medicaid to slash to help pay for the bill's tax cuts. Maternity services aren't on the chopping block. But if Congress reduces federal funding for some portions of Medicaid, states — and hospitals — will have to figure out how to offset that loss. The ripple effects could translate into less money for rural hospitals overall, meaning some may no longer be able to afford labor and delivery services. "Cuts to Medicaid are going to be felt disproportionately in rural areas where Medicaid makes up a higher proportion of labor and delivery and for services in general," Kozhimannil said. "It is a hugely important payer at rural hospitals, and for birth in particular." And though private insurers often pay more than Medicaid for birth services, Miller believes states shouldn't let companies off the hook. "The data shows that in many cases, commercial insurance plans operating in a state are not paying adequately for labor and delivery," Miller said. "Hospitals will tell you it's not just Medicaid; it's also commercial insurance." He'd like to see state insurance regulators pressure private insurance to pay more. More than 40% of births in rural communities are covered by private insurance. Yet there's no one magic bullet that will fix every rural hospital's bottom line, Miller said: "For every hospital I've talked to, it's been a different set of circumstances." Stateline reporter Anna Claire Vollers can be reached at [email protected]. YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘Expensive and complicated': Most rural hospitals no longer deliver babies
A mother prepares her infant son for bed. Since 2020, 36 states have lost at least one rural labor and delivery department. In rural counties, the loss of hospital-based obstetric care is associated with increases in births in hospital emergency rooms, less prenatal care and higher rates of babies being born too early. (Photo by) Nine months after Monroe County Hospital in rural South Alabama closed its labor and delivery department in October 2023, Grove Hill Memorial Hospital in neighboring Clarke County also stopped delivering babies. Both hospitals are located in an agricultural swath of the state that's home to most of its poorest counties. Many residents of the region don't even have a nearby emergency department. Stacey Gilchrist is a nurse and administrator who's spent her 40-year career in Thomasville, a small town about 20 minutes north of Grove Hill. Thomasville's hospital shut down entirely last September over financial difficulties. Thomasville Regional hadn't had a labor and delivery unit for years, but women in labor still showed up at its ER when they knew they wouldn't make it to the nearest delivering hospital. 'We had several close calls where people could not make it even to Grove Hill when they were delivering there,' Gilchrist told Stateline shortly after the Thomasville hospital closed. She recalled how Thomasville nurses worked to save the lives of a mother and baby who'd delivered early in their ER, as staff waited for neonatal specialists to arrive by ambulance from a distant delivering hospital. 'It would give you chills to see what all they had to do. They had to get inventive,' she said, but the mother and baby survived. Now many families must drive more than an hour to reach the nearest birthing hospital. Nationwide, most rural hospitals no longer offer obstetric services. Since the end of 2020, more than 100 rural hospitals have stopped delivering babies, according to a new report from the Center for Healthcare Quality & Payment Reform, a national policy center focused on solving health care issues through overhauling insurance payments. Fewer than 1,000 rural hospitals nationwide still have labor and delivery services. A small town tries to revive its hospital in the middle of a rural health crisis Across the nation, two rural labor and delivery departments shut their doors every month on average, said Harold Miller, the center's president and CEO. 'It's the perfect storm,' Miller told Stateline. 'The number of births are going down, everything is more expensive in rural areas, health insurance plans don't cover the cost of births, and hospitals don't have the resources to offset those losses because they're losing money on other services, too.' Staffing shortages, low Medicaid reimbursement payments and declining birth rates have contributed to the closures. Some states have responded by changing how Medicaid funds are spent, by allowing the opening of freestanding birth centers, or by encouraging urban-based obstetricians to open satellite clinics in rural areas. Yet the losses continue. Thirty-six states have lost at least one rural labor and delivery unit since the end of 2020, according to the report. Sixteen have lost three or more. Indiana has lost 12, accounting for a third of its rural hospital labor and delivery units. In rural counties the loss of hospital-based obstetric care is associated with increases in births in hospital emergency rooms, studies have found. The share of women without adequate prenatal care also increases in rural counties that lose hospital obstetric services. And researchers have seen an increase in preterm births — when a baby is born three or more weeks early — following rural labor and delivery closures. Babies born too early have higher rates of death and disability. The decline in hospital-based maternity care has been decades in the making. Traditionally, hospitals lose money on obstetrics. It costs more to maintain a labor and delivery department than a hospital gets paid by insurance to deliver a baby. This is especially true for rural hospitals, which see fewer births and therefore less revenue than urban areas. 'It is expensive and complicated for any hospital to have labor and delivery because it's a 24/7 service,' said Miller. A labor and delivery unit must always have certain staff available or on call, including a physician who can perform cesarean sections, nurses with obstetric training, and an anesthetist for C-sections and labor pain management. You can't subsidize a losing service when you don't have profit coming in from other services. – Harold Miller, president and CEO of the Center for Healthcare Quality & Payment Reform 'There's a minimum fixed cost you incur [as a hospital] to have all of that, regardless of how many births there are,' Miller said. In most cases, insurers don't pay hospitals to maintain that standby capacity; they're paid per birth. Hospitals cover their losses on obstetrics with revenue they get from more lucrative services. For a larger urban hospital with thousands of births a year, the fixed costs might be manageable. For smaller rural hospitals, they're much harder to justify. Some have had to jettison their obstetric services just to keep the doors open. 'You can't subsidize a losing service when you don't have profit coming in from other services,' Miller said. And staffing is a persistent problem. Harrison County Hospital in Corydon, Indiana, a small town on the border with Kentucky, ended its obstetric services in March after hospital leaders said they were unable to recruit an obstetric provider. It was the only delivering hospital in the county, averaging about 400 births a year. And most providers don't want to remain on call 24/7, a particular problem in rural regions that might have just one or two physicians trained in obstetrics. In many rural areas, family physicians with obstetrical training fill the role of both obstetricians and general practitioners. Even before Harrison County Hospital suspended its obstetrical services, some patients were already driving more than 30 minutes for care, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported. The closure means the drive could be 50 minutes to reach a hospital with a labor and delivery department, or to see providers for prenatal visits. A fifth of Americans are on Medicaid. Some of them have no idea. Longer drive times can be risky, resulting in more scheduled inductions and C-sections because families are scared to risk going into labor naturally and then facing a harrowing hourlong drive to the hospital. Having fewer labor and delivery units could further burden ambulance services already stretched thin in rural areas. And hospitals often serve as a hub for other maternity-related services that help keep mothers and babies healthy. 'Other things we've seen in rural counties that have hospital-based OB care is that you're more likely to have other supportive things, like maternal mental health support, postpartum groups, lactation support, access to doula care and midwifery services,' said Katy Kozhimannil, a professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, whose research focuses in part on maternal health policy with a focus on rural communities. Medicaid, the state-federal public insurance for people with low incomes, pays for nearly half of all births in rural areas nationwide. And women who live in rural communities and small towns are more likely to be covered by Medicaid than women in metro areas. Experts say one way to save rural labor and delivery in many places would be to bump up Medicaid payments. As congressional Republicans debate President Donald Trump's tax and spending plan, they're considering which portions of Medicaid to slash to help pay for the bill's tax cuts. Maternity services aren't on the chopping block. But if Congress reduces federal funding for some portions of Medicaid, states — and hospitals — will have to figure out how to offset that loss. The ripple effects could translate into less money for rural hospitals overall, meaning some may no longer be able to afford labor and delivery services. Abortion-ban states pour millions into pregnancy centers with little medical care 'Cuts to Medicaid are going to be felt disproportionately in rural areas where Medicaid makes up a higher proportion of labor and delivery and for services in general,' Kozhimannil said. 'It is a hugely important payer at rural hospitals, and for birth in particular.' And though private insurers often pay more than Medicaid for birth services, Miller believes states shouldn't let companies off the hook. 'The data shows that in many cases, commercial insurance plans operating in a state are not paying adequately for labor and delivery,' Miller said. 'Hospitals will tell you it's not just Medicaid; it's also commercial insurance.' He'd like to see state insurance regulators pressure private insurance to pay more. More than 40% of births in rural communities are covered by private insurance. Yet there's no one magic bullet that will fix every rural hospital's bottom line, Miller said: 'For every hospital I've talked to, it's been a different set of circumstances.' Stateline reporter Anna Claire Vollers can be reached at avollers@ SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Perth Now
06-06-2025
- Health
- Perth Now
Doctors' blunt warning on e- scooters
Doctors across the country are growing increasingly alarmed about the scale of carnage from electric scooter crashes, with one trauma specialist saying his team now confronts 'terrible injuries' daily. Professor Dieter Weber, head of trauma services at Royal Perth Hospital, told the ABC's Stateline program this week that his doctors confronted 'broken bones, significant internal organ injuries, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries', often leaving patients with 'lasting lifelong effects'. 'The facilities here at the state trauma centre allow us to give our patients the best possible care, but sadly … the pathway to try to get back to as normal a life is not always possible with these terrible injuries that we're seeing,' he said. 'We're seeing the whole range of injuries from broken bones, significant internal organ injuries, brain injuries, spinal cord this enormous group of patients that we've had to treat from injuries that are preventable.' His warning comes as Perth residents grapple with the shock death of Thanh Phan, 51, following an e-scooter crash in the CBD. Police allege British tourist Alicia Kemp was riding an e-scooter while intoxicated when she struck Mr Phan. Professor Dieter Weber treats e-scooter injuries as the head of trauma services at Royal Perth Hospital. Supplied Credit: Supplied Electric scooters are an increasingly popular method of travel. NewsWire / Ian Currie Credit: News Corp Australia She has been charged with dangerous driving causing death. Mr Phan was critically injured in the crash and died in hospital on Tuesday. Mr Phan's family have remembered him as a 'beloved husband, father of two, brother and dear friend'. 'We ask that the media respect the privacy of Thanh's family as they grieve their loss,' the family statement said. 'We also call for a review of the governance and safety regulations surrounding hired e-scooters to help prevent further serious incidents that put lives at risk.' The City of Perth has now suspended the use of hired e-scooters. The ban follows a vote from the City of Melbourne to outlaw hired e-scooters, though private scooters are still allowed across Victoria. Professor Weber's remarks also come as a new report from doctors and researchers in Queensland highlight a 'significant risk' to children from e-scooters. The report, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health this week, analysed 176 child e-scooter injury cases that presented to Sunshine Coast University Hospital between January 2023 and December 2024. The research found 71 per cent of cases were male, falls accounted for 78 per cent of crashes, while 13 per cent involved motor vehicles. Thanh Phan died after he was struck by an e-scooter in the Perth CBD. ABC Credit: ABC Helmet noncompliance was documented in 42 per cent of the presentations, 12 per cent involved doubling, and 36 per cent exceeded the 25km/h speed limit. Further, fractures occurred in 37 per cent of cases, 18 per cent required computerised tomography scans and 11 per cent sustained life-threatening or potentially life-threatening injuries. The researchers warn e-scooter-related injuries among children are 'on the rise' and want to see Queensland's minimum age limit raised to 16 for all riders. 'While e-scooters do offer some transportation advantages, their use among children and adolescents raises significant safety concerns that cannot be ignored,' the report concludes. 'This study sheds light on the prevalence and severity of e-scooter-related injuries in this population in Queensland and underscores the importance of targeted interventions to mitigate these risks. 'We believe policymakers should urgently revisit the age limits in Queensland to ensure the safety of the state's youth until improved safety measures such as better speed-restricted e-scooters and driving proficiency tests have been implemented and demonstrated a significant risk reduction.' Research analysed e-scooter crash presentations at Sunshine Coast University Hospital. NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar Credit: NewsWire Queensland permits children aged between 12 and 15 to ride scooters if they are accompanied by an adult. Despite the rise in injuries, the researchers also warn there is no dedicated data collection system in place for e-scooter trauma. 'There are no pediatric-specific data on e-scooter trauma in Queensland, leaving policy change bereft of meaningful evidence to refine and strengthen current regulations,' the report states. Australia has a hodgepodge system of e-scooter regulations. In May, the NSW government announced a new 'framework' for e-scooter laws in the state. The new regulations would allow e-scooters to go on shared paths, with a default speed limit of 10-20km/h, and a 20km/h speed limit on roads that are signposted at 50km/h and below. E-scooters would be legal for independent riders over 16 years of age. 'These devices are creating an evolution in how people move around, and that's a good thing, but we need to get the balance right,' NSW Transport Minister John Graham said last month. 'There's still a lot of work to do, but this provides a clear path forward when it comes to properly integrating and regulating this relatively new form of transport.'
