STUART — Martin County commissioners voted 4-1 to approve a lease agreement allowing the Healthy Start Coalition of Martin County to move forward with plans for a maternity center aimed at restoring local childbirth services after the closure of Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital’s labor and delivery unit.
The board’s vote allows the coalition to lease the former Emergency Operations Center building at 6000 Southeast Tower Drive, near Cleveland Clinic South Hospital, for $1 per year.
Healthy Start Coalition CEO Samantha Suffich said the county has lacked a local delivery facility since Cleveland Clinic closed the Martin North labor and delivery unit in April of 2025.
“We developed a huge gap. We don't have a place for babies to be born in Martin County,” Suffich said.
Suffich said similar closures have been occurring in communities across the country and described the proposed maternity center as a different approach to maternal care.
“The issue of labor and delivery closing is an issue across the nation. This is an opportunity to do something a little bit more innovative where we can interweave our Healthy Start social services as well as our clinical services so we can have coordinated case management and this would allow for us to have better outcomes in the long run,” she said.
Former Cleveland Clinic Martin Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Fernando Petry said financial considerations have contributed to the decline of hospital-based maternity services.
“I think that women's health services are something that are not taken seriously by hospitals. It's a service that's seen as a loss leader. It's unfortunately something that doesn't make money for the hospitals like your big surgeries and orthopedics and cardiovascular and neurosurgical,” he said.
Petry said the proposed center could help provide more comprehensive care for local families.
“It's important that we offer care from birth to death in the community in a way that is holistic and in a way that brings improved outcomes and we can do that with this new maternity center,” he said.
Several speakers during public comment focused on the challenges pregnant women now face traveling outside Martin County for deliveries. Some described women giving birth in their cars while trying to reach hospitals in neighboring counties.
Dr. Brian Moriarty, a chiropractor who works with pregnant women and newborns and also serves on the Martin County School Board, said the travel times could affect patient outcomes.
“Honestly, the time of travel is significant to go to other counties to give births. It is significant for outcomes when you're driving 45 minutes to an hour to try to give a birth when it could be here locally. That will change lives. That will save lives. That will make births better,” he said.
Commissioner Eileen Vargas cast the lone dissenting vote against the lease agreement.
“I am not in support, nor am I comfortable investing taxpayer monies and assets in this venture,” Vargas said.
Other commissioners voiced support for the proposal, including Commissioner Sarah Heard, who referenced the coalition’s existing mobile maternity services.
“The Momobile has been in service for just a short period of time, and already they have delivered six or seven healthy babies. Imagine what they can do with a brick and mortar place,” Heard said.
The maternity center project is expected to cost about $8 million. Organizers said $1 million has already been secured through the state of Florida.