Schumer: Fort Drum’s Military Moms & Families Deserve The Very Best When It Comes To HealthCare

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer Yesterday announced he has secured legislation in the Senate’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) to begin to address the long standing shortage of Obstetrician-Gynecologists (OB/GYNs) at Fort Drum. For years, Fort Drum has faced shortages of OB/GYNs, forcing soldiers and military families in need of maternal health care to seek care from local hospitals off base or to drive for hours when local care is unavailable.

Schumer said if this language passes into the final NDDA it would require the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Defense Health Agency (DHA) to immediately begin work to create a comprehensive plan to expand OB/GYN care serving Fort Drum and the surrounding Watertown area.

“Our Fort Drum military moms & families, who serve our nation proudly, deserve better access to vital maternal healthcare. But right now, our servicemembers at Fort Drum and their families often have to leave base to access the basic maternal healthcare they need. The bottom line is that we need to take better care of our brave military moms,” said Senator Schumer. “The North Country already experiences major shortages when it comes to recruiting OB/GYNs, and we can’t be forcing our military families who sacrifice so much to be stuck without the proper care they need when they move to our community in service to our country. That is why I am proud to have secured a provision in the Senate NDAA to put Fort Drum’s military moms & families’ first. This is a massive step in the right direction, and we need DoD to immediately address this urgent need to expand OB/GYN care at military installations and make sure families—both at Fort Drum and around the country—have what they need to be safe and healthy. Fort Drum is woven in the very fabric of the North Country, and our military families, military moms and those on the base deserve only the best when it comes to health care.”

Fort Drum has a history of relying on the civilian healthcare network for primary health care, as well as specialty care provided by OB/GYNs. When Camp Drum became Fort Drum in 1974, the decision was made to not build a hospital on-post, and to instead only have a clinic, in order to integrate Fort Drum families with the local network in Watertown.

Shortages of OB/GYN providers on base force those in need of maternal health care to seek care in the community for a multitude of reasons, which can range in urgency from routine check-ups to emergency childbirth. Samaritan Medical Center and Carthage Area Hospital serve Fort Drum soldiers and families with incredible dedication and top-notch medical care, but when their OB/GYNs are spread too thin, soldiers and families must travel over an hour and a half to Syracuse or farther for care. Schumer said this not only increases the risk to patients unnecessarily, but it also saddles soldiers with expenses that they are not eligible to be compensated for under the Department of Defense’s Joint Travel Regulation (JTR).

To help fix the situation, Schumer proudly pushed for and successfully secured language in the Senate version of the NDAA to develop a plan & study the administrative and cost barriers to expanding OB/GYN care specifically in the Watertown area and to create a comprehensive plan to expand OB/GYN care serving Fort Drum. The provision also directs the Secretary of Defense to brief Congress on the plan December 1 of this year to ensure that there is no more delay in providing the Fort Drum community with reliable, high-quality maternal health care close to home.

Schumer said the shortage of OB/GYNs at Fort Drum is part of a nationwide shortage, with particularly low access in rural areas. OB/GYNs have one of the highest attrition rates compared to most medical professions, and increased threats to OB/GYN safety driven by anti-abortion politics. Labor and delivery units, especially in rural areas, are currently closing nationwide due to low reimbursement, and with Medicaid paying for more than 40% of births across the country, even more L&D units are at risk. The recent GOP cuts to Medicaid – the largest in history – will force more units in rural parts of the country to close. This will exacerbate the already dire situation of limited access to critical OB/GYN care for those living on bases in rural America.

Erika Flint, Executive Director, Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization, said “Ensuring access to high-quality OBGYN care for military members and their families continues to be a key focus for the local healthcare community. Maintaining this standard of care—locally and consistently—reflects a deep commitment to the well-being of those who serve. We appreciate the support and attention given to this issue by Senator Schumer, which affects our North Country families, both civilian and military alike.”