State warnings ignored as Legacy closes Mount Hood birth center.

Legacy Health will close the maternity department at Mount Hood Medical Center despite warnings from state regulators that the closure would violate the terms of the Gresham hospital’s operating license. The hospital chain says it doesn’t have the staff to keep the Mount Hood birth center open and would divert patients in labor to its Randall Children’s Hospital in Portland or other hospitals in the region. The plan to close the birth center has drawn fierce criticism from elected officials, including the Multnomah County commissioners and Oregon lawmakers representing districts in the eastern part of the county served by the hospital.