So by now you must have heard about St Elizabeth’s reorganization as they integrate the two St Luke hospitals into their health care system. The bottom line is the loss of obstetrics at the St Luke East Hospital. I doubt this has a major impact on the Fort Thomas community per se as no one I know in Fort Thomas gave birth there. The hospital seems to service rural Campbell County, Pendleton County, and Bracken County. When my parents lived in Bracken County some 37 years ago they delivered my oldest sister there and the same appears to hold true today. As long as they do not cut emergency service which is highly unlikely I see no real loss of service for the Fort Thomas community.
With that being said, I see 2 potential impacts:
1. A reshuffling of doctors with office locations in Fort Thomas. There are currently quite a few doctors that have at least a part time presence in the offices on Grand Ave. Many are likely to still have at least a partial presence there but with obstetrics shifting to Edgewood it would make sense to have their offices closer to the hospital and their patients.
2. Every coin has two sides and the flip side of the loss of obstetrics in Fort Thomas is an expansion of oncology, women’s services, chemical dependency and mental health at St Luke East. This creates more opportunities for specialized medical care not just at the hospital but at many of the same offices on Grand Ave that could lose an OB/GYN or two.
