Loss of labor and delivery units strain rural healthcare

Expecting mothers in Burke County have two options for the delivery of their baby: They can drive more than a half-hour to Augusta or Statesboro. To the west, there's no labor and delivery unit until Milledgeville, some 80 miles away. It's a change from less than three years ago, when Burke Medical Center in Waynesboro had its own labor and delivery unit. Since then, two other hospitals in this area of the state, in Washington and Emanuel counties, have also lost theirs. "They have choices," said Dr. Frank Carter, who delivered babies in Burke County for nearly 20 years. "They just have to drive at least 40 minutes to get to any of those choices."