Labor and delivery services will be consolidated at Owatonna Hospital, starting December 1.
FARIBAULT, Minn. — Allina Health announces that the Faribault Birth Center will close on December 1.
In a statement, officials said this decision comes as part of efforts to consolidate labor and delivery services in southern Minnesota. Now, the Owatonna Hospital will serve as a regional labor and delivery hub.
According to Allina Health, they transitioned to a regional obstetric care model following the Mayo Clinic Health System’s decision to end on-call labor and delivery coverage at Owatonna Hospital starting November 17.
As a result, Allina Health said it would not be feasible for a small team to support two birth centers, prompting the decision to consolidate labor and delivery services at Owatonna Hospital and close the Faribault Birth Center.
Despite those changes, outpatient services — including prenatal, postpartum, gynecologic, newborn, and pediatric care — will continue in Faribault and expand to Owatonna beginning in early December.
“Maintaining rural labor and delivery programs is increasingly challenging due to provider shortages, long recruitment timelines, declining birth volumes and low reimbursement rates,” in a press release said Whitney Johnson, president of Faribault Medical Center and Owatonna Hospital.
To support the regional obstetric care model, the Faribault Medical Center will discontinue certain services over the span of the next couple of months.
Starting December 1, 2025, Allina Health said the Faribault Medical Center will no longer provide emergency surgical coverage during evenings and weekends. According to the statement, that’s due to the limited availability of anesthesia services. Surgeons, however, will remain on-call.
Anyone who needs emergency surgery during those times will be transferred to Owatonna Hospital or one of Allina Health’s metro locations.
Effective May 7, 2026, Faribault Medical Center will also cease admissions of pediatric patients. Those patients will be admitted to Owatonna.
“We understand that service changes can be difficult for the community. We want to assure our patients, care team members and the larger community, that we’ve carefully evaluated our options,” said Johnson in a press release. “This service integration allows us to prioritize safe, high-quality and sustainable care while ensuring continued access to these vital obstetric services for our region.”