Northeast Iowa hospital won’t send out birth announcements any more

A Northeast Iowa hospital has decided to stop releasing information on births to area media. Winneshiek County Memorial Hospital in Decorah stopped releasing the information to newspapers several weeks ago, and this week stopped giving the info to radio stations. Hospital communications coordinator Vicki Bjerke says it’s a growing trend among hospitals concerned with patient security.Bjerke says they already take extra precautions to prevent the theft of babies from the hospital, such as having nurses accompany parents when they leave with their babies.Bjerke says there’s never been an attempt to steal a baby from the hospital.The hospital had routinely reported five to six births per week before the decision was made to keep that information confidential.