June 20, 2025
MORRISVILLE, VT–For generations, Copley’s Birthing Center has been a source of joy and pride—a vital part of our hospital’s history and a trusted place for families across our region. We deeply honor the role our Birthing Center has played in welcoming new life and providing compassionate care during life’s mot meaningful moments. In our current healthcare crisis, Copley’s goal is to maximize the welfare of the community regarding hospital related health issues.
As stewards of limited healthcare resources, we must make decisions that ensure access to high quality, essential care for the greatest number of people. This is not just about the present time— it’s about securing the long-term sustainability of Copley Hospital. Births in Vermont are the lowest in the nation with 42.1 per 1000 live births by women aged 15-44. As our population ages, the number will continue to drop. Copley births have followed the state’s downward trend for nearly two decades. Less than 50% of Lamoille County birthing families are choosing to give birth at Copley. The decrease in volume introduces greater possibility of decreased quality in delivery outcomes for mothers and babies. The limited resources Copley has available to continue to support the Birthing Center as birth numbers drop, has reached a critical point. With an annual loss that equates to $15,000 – $30,000 per birth, the costs are becoming greater than can be managed.
June 17, 2025, the Copley Board of Trustees voted for the closure of the Copley Birthing Center and to transition to a regional model of care in our county.
Key items for our Community to know:
• A comprehensive plan is being developed to transition care of birthing families to a regional model. Families will have many choices about where and how to seamlessly access maternity care.
• Copley’s Women’s Center will remain open, welcoming women for healthcare, annual visits and screenings, contraceptives, family planning, menopause care, and gynecological surgery.
• Copley will continue to provide prenatal and postpartum care along with their current gynecology services while providing navigation for birthing families to deliver at partnering hospitals.
In the coming weeks, current prenatal patients will receive information about the Birthing Center closure date and the impact to their birthing plan. In addition, we will share detailed information about our partner labor and delivery hospitals to help facilitate birthing family decision making. Copley has always provided excellent patient care and is committed to continuing with the highest quality of care through the upcoming changes. Current staff will be given assistance to transition to new appointments and positions both at Copley and in the region.
The Board and administration understand this is deeply emotional and personal—for patients, families, and our staff. Our priority is ensuring safe, equitable access to care while making choices that will keep our hospital strong and responsive to community needs well into the future. Copley Hospital is committed to working with Vermont’s AHS and the Green Mountain Care Board in the transformation to a more sustainable healthcare model in Vermont.
“The Board is grateful to the community, Copley staff, and everyone who shared their personal stories, family connections, or professional experiences with the birthing center. It has been a privilege to know how much our community cares for our hospital. As a nurse, I have spent my career helping people through some of the most vulnerable times in their lives. I care deeply, as everyone on the Board does, about the health of the community and Copley. This has been an emotional and moving journey for everyone. With the diligent work by everyone over many months, including the consultant’s thorough research and report, we believe we have made the best decision possible in a challenging situation. The new collaboration with partnering hospitals establishes a role model for the future of maternal care in Vermont.”
–Anne Bongiorno, RN, PhD, Chair, Copley Hospital Board of Trustees
“Morrisville is my home and Copley is my hospital. Nothing would make me happier than to keep the Birthing Center open the way it has been for generations. As a nurse, former chair of the Board of Trustees, and in my current role at Lamoille Health and Hospice, I see the data from the perspective of both an operational leader and as a member of this community. I know everyone on the Board wishes we could keep it open and I commend Anne for her leadership. The hard decision to close the Birthing Center is the right one. We have to start healing as a Community.”
–Kathy Demars, RN, Co-Vice Chair Copley Board of Trustees,
Executive Director of Lamoille Home Health & Hospice