How 1 California hospital is rethinking maternity care
As maternity care closures and OB-GYN shortages increase nationwide, San Jose, Calif.-based Good Samaritan Hospital is embracing a new approach to help tackle these challenges.
The 474-bed hospital, part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, has adopted a midwifery-integrated model to help with care access and provider workload management.
Becker’s connected with Patrick Rohan, CEO of Good Samaritan Hospital, to discuss how this model is enhancing care continuity, improving patient satisfaction and addressing maternal health disparities.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What drove your decision to pursue a midwifery-integrated model at Good Samaritan Hospital?
Patrick Rohan: With maternity wards shuttering across the country and obstetric workforce shortages on the rise, it’s imperative that health systems rethink how they approach maternal healthcare. At Good Samaritan Hospital, we’re leading that shift through our partnership with a midwifery-led care model that integrates with our current care structure. These models not only ensure high-quality, continuous care for patients but also alleviate pressure on OBs by allowing skilled midwives to lead care for the majority of low-risk pregnancies.
Q: How has the shift toward collaborative maternity care changed outcomes or care delivery at your facility?
PR: Easing provider burden is a major focus across the healthcare ecosystem. By identifying higher-risk cases earlier through more proactive, continuous care, we ensure our OBs are brought in when most critical — leading to more efficient provider utilization and reduced burnout across our staff. Patients benefit from more proactive, right-sized care throughout pregnancy and postpartum, and we’ve seen measurable improvement in patient satisfaction and continuity of care. As we near the delivery of our first cohort of shared patients, we’re confident we’ll see improved birth outcomes as well.
Q: In what ways has this model helped address maternal health disparities in your community?
PR: This 360-degree, patient-centered care model is designed to close the gaps that disproportionately affect underserved communities. Through a combination of clinically excellent, culturally competent care and wraparound services, we ensure that patients are supported physically, mentally and emotionally from preconception through postpartum.
This includes home postpartum visits, doula support, lactation counseling, mental health support and 24/7 virtual care — all of which reduce access barriers yet often fall outside of traditional maternal healthcare. The hybrid nature of the model, supported by a tech-enabled platform for remote monitoring and continuous patient engagement, allows us to meet patients where they are. We’re already seeing improved patient satisfaction, underscoring the clinical and equity-driven impact of this approach.
Q: What lessons have you learned from implementing this approach that might be helpful for other hospital leaders navigating similar challenges?
PR: One of the most important lessons so far is the value of choosing the right partner. Good Samaritan Hospital is proud to expand its current women’s services to offer moms more options when it comes to their prenatal, delivery and postnatal care. While this collaborative model is still in its early stages, we’ve seen firsthand how a well-aligned partnership — grounded in shared values around safety, equity, and whole-person care — can catalyze meaningful innovation in a legacy care model.
We also learned that thoughtful integration matters. Instead of replacing existing structures, this model enhances our care delivery by layering in a midwifery-led approach for low-risk patients, which protects the bandwidth of our OBs and promotes better care continuity for all. Even in this early phase, we’ve seen increased engagement from both patients and staff, which is a clear signal that the model resonates and fills a long-standing gap in maternal care in our community.
For other hospitals navigating obstetrics staffing shortages or looking to improve maternal health outcomes, we’d encourage them to rethink the traditional silos in care delivery. Embracing collaboration — across disciplines, roles and modalities — can open the door to a more sustainable and patient-centered future.