Dedicated Emergency Departments Target Expectant Moms
by Nancy Vessell
Obstetric emergency departments staffed 24/7 by obstetricians/gynecologists are popping up around the country, handling obstetric triage and emergent situations.
Two of the newest – and the first in New Jersey – are Christ Hospital in Jersey City and Hoboken University Medical Center. Their parent corporation, CarePoint Health, says the OB EDs that opened in April are one of several strategies to stem the exodus of 1,500 obstetric patients a year from their Hudson County market to hospitals in Manhattan.
So far, it looks promising. “We have tripled the number of projected births from the first half of 2013 to the second half of 2013,” says Judy Hager, executive director of CarePoint Health Women and Children’s Services. “The OB ED is only one of many strategies we have to build our obstetric business, and we’re having huge success in our strategies.” The opening of five new, upscale OB/GYN offices in February has been a big driver of business, too.
Women of childbearing age received letters from CarePoint about the new OB emergency departments, where all expectant moms are seen by an OB/GYN upon arrival at either hospital, Hager notes.