The Medical Center of Southeast Texas Launches New Laborist Program in 2023
Expectant women in Southeast Texas and the surrounding area will soon benefit from enhanced medical care during their labor and delivery experience through a collaboration between The Medical Center of Southeast Texas (“The Medical Center”) and Millenium Neonatology to establish an OB-GYN hospitalist program.
Dr. Stephanie Cunningham, chair of the obstetrics and gynecology department at The Medical Center added, “The services provided by the OB-GYN Hospitalist program will add another layer of safety and quality to the obstetrical care that we provide at our birthing center. Our local physicians will continue to provide inpatient care for their private patients. The safety net provided through the new OB-GYN Hospitalist program is a wonderful benefit for our community of new parents and babies.”
OB-GYN hospitalist care is a model of care in increasing use in the United States and is in contrast to the traditional model of obstetrical care in which clinicians often divide their time among seeing their patients in outpatient clinics, outpatient surgery centers and the hospital. Launched earlier this year, the on-site program provides oversight of expectant patients’ care until their obstetrician arrives, ensuring physicians are immediately and consistently available to pregnant mothers and their newborns. Further, research has shown that having a dedicated OB/GYN provider can result in better outcomes for mothers and babies, including reducing C-sections and stillbirths.
This new program will also complement the Level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at The Medical Center which is staffed around the clock by on-site neonatology physicians.
Dr. Snehal Doshi, longtime Southeast Texas neonatologist and medical director of The Medical Center’s NICU added, “This is a significant addition to the suite of services we provide for women and children. Every birth is different and comes with its own set of challenges just like every mother’s needs during delivery and labor are unique. This model of care will help reduce risk and help us provide the very best, patient-centered care.”
The new program will be led by a local team of board-certified physicians, including Drs. Gary Mennie, Stephanie Cunningham, Rojina Jasani and Eduardo Jaramillo with more than 60 years of combined experience in caring for women in Southeast Texas. Their role is to enhance patient outcomes by ensuring physicians are immediately and consistently available to pregnant mothers and their newborns from check-in to delivery.
The team of dedicated OB/GYN providers will also lead simulation training for obstetric emergencies in the labor & delivery unit - a proven practice that decreases morbidity and mortality in life-threatening situations.
To schedule a tour of our Labor and Delivery Suites, please call (409) 853-5657. To learn more about the Women & Children’s service line at The Medical Center, please visit our website medicalcentersetexas.org/services-directory/maternity.