Key Points
Troy, N.Y.When a medical system submitted a plan in June to close Samaritan Hospitals maternity ward herejust two days before a state law requiring an independent assessment of such closures went into effecta group of women who call themselves the Burdett moms" went to work..
Pink Save Burdett Birth Center" signs started popping up throughout Troy, a city of around 50,000 people about 8 miles north of Albany..
The New York law, which requires state officials to consider the potential impact of proposed health-facility changes on underserved people before granting approval, galvanizedefforts to halt the planned closure..
In New York, the planned shutting down of the Troy birth center will be a test of how state officials make use of the new law..
In a statement, the New York State Department of Health said that neither the impact study nor the required closure plan have been submitted by St. Peters..
