Madera County’s hospital closure leaves residents without care
MADERA, Calif. — It was dinnertime when Sabrina Baker, a mother of six, felt the familiar twinge of contractions. At first, she brushed it off as Braxton Hicks, false labor pains not uncommon in the late stages of pregnancy. But after dinner that night in early January, the pain sharpened and radiated to her back. The contractions intensified, and Baker knew this baby girl was coming fast. She had a decision to make — and the options weren’t good.Two days earlier, Madera County’s only general hospital had shut its…