The president of Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario has pledged to help bolster the number of nurses trained in obstetrics, a response to the pending closure of the birth center at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Baker City.

Saint Alphonsus officials, in announcing June 22 that the center would close July 30, cited a shortage of nurses as the main reason.

Hospital officials said July 14 that they are looking at ways to potentially keep the birth center open for a “short time” after July 30.

In a Wednesday, July 19 letter to U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Dana M. Young, president of Treasure Valley Community College, described ways the college could potentially help with the shortage of obstetrics nurses.

Wyden, who has called on Saint Alphonsus to keep the birth center open through at least January 2024, had solicited help from Treasure Valley and other institutions.

In her letter, Young wrote that although no members of the college’s nursing faculty have obstetrics experience that could make them eligible to work in the Baker City birth center this summer, Treasure Valley has changed the job description for a vacant nursing instructor to include obstetrics experience as a preferred qualification.

“This will not only enhance expertise on our nursing faculty team, but it could also provide an added nursing resources since many of our faculty desire to work locally at clinics or hospitals during college breaks or summer terms,” Young wrote.

She also wrote that Treasure Valley is considering having nursing faculty and students do clinical training at the Baker City hospital.

In addition, Treasure Valley last month received $3 million in federal funding to help build a nursing and allied health professional center. Young wrote that the center will double the number of nursing students in each cohort, creating “a pipeline of skilled workers to fill high-demand, high-wage healthcare jobs in our region.”