Vim & Vigor - Summer 2017 - Community Healthcare - 51

Nicole Bland (front, center) was seen
by the University of Chicago Medicine's
Mahmoud Ismail, MD, right, on an
outpatient basis at the Schererville
location before having a healthy baby,
Willow, at Community Hospital.

subspecialists from the University of
Chicago Medicine supplement care provided by Community Healthcare System's
team of obstetrician/gynecologists. These
maternal-fetal specialists work in tandem
with the expectant mother's primary
care physician to provide counseling,
screening and fetal diagnostic testing.
"Offering this level of expertise in managing high-risk situations means we have
the knowledge and experience to guide
women through every situation during
this important time in their lives," says
Carla Meyer, director of Patient Care
Services. "Our team of maternal-fetal
specialists, ob-gyns, primary care physicians, nurses and other staff provide a
woman and her family the critical support
she needs to deliver a healthy baby."
Previously, many women with highrisk pregnancies in Northwest Indiana
would need to be transferred to a hospital in a university setting to receive a
more complex level of care.
"Some of the patients that may have
been transferred before maternal-fetal
medicine was locally available can now
stay closer to home and deliver in the
community," Meyer says. "It keeps the
mom, the baby and the support system
together. When the mom needs to deliver
outside the community, traveling back
and forth puts stress on the family unit."
"It is a win-win situation to have a group
of subspecialists available to care for
the mother," says neonatologist Martin
Kelly, MD, clinical associate, Section
of Neonatology, University of Chicago
Medicine, and a Community Healthcare
Partner. "This means someone is always
nearby to evaluate these patients,

whether it is through the inpatient setting at Community Hospital or at the
University of Chicago's outpatient clinic
in Schererville. This ensures that the
patient gets the best care possible closest to home. As far as patient care and
convenience for families, it is much
better and it helps that the rest of the
care team is in close proximity."
Ob-gyns can refer patients into
the program, or expectant mothers
with complications can come directly
to Community Hospital's Emergency
department for care. To enhance
this source of inpatient care, as of
September, Community Hospital will
make available "laborists," or specialized ob-gyns, around the clock to see
patients with acute conditions that
require consultation with a MaternalFetal Medicine program physician.
"A number of patients, for example,
have conditions that can be taken
care of in their own community, but
need consultation with a specialist to
make sure the optimal plan is being followed during pregnancy and to ensure
that the baby is delivered safely in the
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at
Community Hospital," says Sarosh Rana,
MD, associate professor of Obstetrics
and Gynecology and chief, Section of
Maternal-Fetal Medicine, University of
Chicago Medicine. "Our partnership
ensures that there is seamless continuity
of care."

In 2012, Community Hospital first partnered with the University of Chicago to
make advanced care available 24 hours
per day, seven days per week in the NICU.
Community Hospital's NICU is the only
Northwest Indiana critical care facility to
have in-house neonatologists around the
clock. These neonatologists now serve as
Community Healthcare Partners, working
side by side with Community Healthcare
System's skilled team of neonatal nurses,
respiratory, occupational, physical and
speech therapists, and audiologists to
provide intensive intervention for infants
with special medical needs.
All three Community Healthcare
System hospitals-including
Community Hospital sister hospitals
St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart and
St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago-
work in partnership with one another
and the University of Chicago to provide
a complete spectrum of medical services
necessary for mothers and newborns.
As part of that care, the neonatal transport system was set in place to establish
a means to transfer critically ill or premature newborns between hospitals.
"We had already worked with the
University of Chicago for our neonatal care and our outpatient MaternalFetal Medicine program," says Meyer.
"Expanding to offer inpatient maternalfetal medicine consults was a natural
progression of the partnership based
on a growing need." n

WEBSITE

Giving Birth at Community Hospital
Learn more about the services offered to support families during the
birthing experience at Community Hospital. Visit www.comhs.org/
services/family-birthing-centers.

SUMME R 2017

51
http://www.comhs.org/services/family-birthing-centers http://www.comhs.org/services/family-birthing-centers
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Summer 2017 - Community Healthcare
