Manufactured Healthcare Deserts

Since 2018, at least 25 hospitals across Ohio have either closed or consolidated their maternity services, 10 of which served rural communities. This is only part of a broader trend occurring nationwide. Since 2022, more than 100 hospitals across the US have shut down their obstetric units. These care deserts are not accidental, nor are they specific to maternity wards; rather, they are a product of a capitalist system that prioritizes profit over the health of the working class across all medical sectors.