A petition is gaining traction that aims to keep the high-risk pregnancy clinic open at Windsor Regional Hospital.
Earlier this week, the hospital announced, starting in November 2019, they will be ceasing service at the Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic at Windsor Regional Hospital for high-risk pregnancies.
The hospital cited funding concerns as the cause of the closure, stating that it costs more than $460,000 a year to operate the clinic, which provides care for the mother and the fetus in situations involving complicated pregnancies. As the only hospital in the region that provides this service, the closure of the Windsor Regional clinic would mean that women will have to travel to London for healthcare.
Now a petition that protests this change is getting some attention online.
"Windsor Regional Hospital has stated that this is not the result of funding cuts by the provincial government but rather a choice they have made on the basis of finding "efficiencies". In other words, it's a matter of priorities," the petition stated. "Sign the petition and send a message to Windsor Regional Hospital's CEO, David Musyj, and its board of directors that women with high-risk pregnancies in Windsor-Essex are a priority."
The Change.org petition, which was created on Wednesday, has over 3,000 signatures as of Saturday afternoon and lists an end goal of 5,000 signatures. A long list of messages of support from those who had signed the petition could be seen at the bottom of the page.
"The women of Windsor should not have to go to London during one of the most difficult times of their lives. Having a high-risk pregnancy should not mean having to drive up the 401 for proper care," read one of the messages.
Several of the supporters who signed also expressed how important they believe the service to be by sharing their own personal stories of having complicated pregnancies.
"I'm signing because I had a high-risk first pregnancy that required me to frequent the clinic and had I not, myself and my son may not be here today. A regular checkup and ultrasound sound turned into preeclampsia and baby stopped growing. Nobody can afford to travel every 2 weeks to London Ontario for important care."