Causer Responds to Cut in Services at UPMC Cole

February 13, 2025

COUDERSPORT – Rep. Martin Causer (R-Cameron/McKean/Potter) issued the following statement in response to the announcement by UPMC officials today that it would be eliminating childbirth delivery services from UPMC Cole, forcing expectant mothers to travel all the way to Wellsboro to deliver their babies.

“This is another devastating health care blow to our region. UPMC executives clearly lack knowledge and understanding of the region they serve, and I told them as much. As a community, we must push back on this decision. We know all too well the needs of our community, and taking labor and delivery services even further away from our families is unacceptable. 

“Here in the most rural part of Pennsylvania, our communities are spread out and we depend on facilities like UPMC Cole to provide access to basic services, including the ability to deliver a baby! To say that expectant mothers can simply travel to Wellsboro for their care demonstrates just how out of touch UPMC’s decisionmakers are with the reality of rural life. 

“They need to put themselves in the shoes of an expectant mother whose labor comes on suddenly…and then has to travel over 90 minutes to Wellsboro, and that’s in good weather. What if she has no transportation? What if she has no family to help her? Our EMS system is in a state of crisis and is struggling to respond to calls in many communities. This decision puts the lives of mothers and babies at risk, and that is completely unacceptable.”