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Hospitals have increasingly been closing maternity departments around the country, including in California. Stephanie Curtis, a certified nurse midwife and ���ϰٿ� instructor of nursing, examines the issue of maternity care deserts in a ���ϰٿ� Downtown Lecture, “Delivering in the Desert: The Impact of Maternity Ward Closures,” on Thursday, Nov. 14, at 5:30 p.m. at the, 631 Garden St., in downtown Santa Barbara. The talk is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations required. is available on the streets surrounding CAW or in nearby city parking lots. For more information, please call (805) 565-6051.

Curtis, who earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Florida, will draw from her personal experiences as a midwife in Central and Southern California. She’ll explore how these populations have been affected and the factors that may contribute to the suspension or termination of inpatient maternity care. She has been an instructor at ���ϰٿ� Downtown | Grotenhuis Nursing since 2023. 

“This growing problem is a symptom of major issues in health care delivery affecting several facilities that provide maternity services,” she says. “It contributes to health care disparities and often leaves those in marginalized communities with even less access to care — some having to drive 30-40 miles to get to a safe place to deliver their babies.”

���ϰٿ� Downtown: Conversations About Things That Matter is a free lecture series sponsored by the ���ϰٿ� Foundation, which also sponsors the annual ���ϰٿ� President’s Breakfast in late February.