Published: The Chester County Hospital Foundation Donor Report FY2012
The OB/GYN Clinic of Chester County Hospital has been serving the healthcare needs of under- and uninsured pregnant women for over 50 years. In fact, while there are four other hospitals in Chester County, PA, Chester County Hospital in West Chester, PA is the only hospital providing both prenatal care and delivery to uninsured women.
The OB/GYN Clinic, with offices at the Hospital and in Kennett Square, PA is supervised by a highly experienced Nurse Practitioner, Deb Mellon, and five out of seven staffers are bilingual. Bilingual staffing is critical to the OB/GYN Clinic's success in the Hispanic community. Chester County Hospital's 15 board-certified obstetrician/gynecologists provide rotating physician coverage. Best practices in maternal and fetal healthcare are employed. Patients are screened for possible complications. Prenatal vitamins are provided to all women and flu shots are offered in season. All are enrolled in the federally funded Women, Infants and Children nutrition program.
In fiscal year 2012, 553 pregnant women received prenatal care at the OB/GYN Clinic. Of those patients, 25% were diagnosed with a high-risk pregnancy and were seen more frequently than a typical prenatal patient; 10-12 appointments for typical patient versus up to 28 for a high-risk patient. These visits are in addition to those with Hospital specialists in other units as needed by the high-risk patient. All babies born at Chester County Hospital have access to the only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Chester County, PA, should they require advanced medical care. In total, 5,431 patient visits occurred at the clinic offices for prenatal and gynecological care.
Birth weight is the gold standard of healthy babies and is tracked nationally following the Healthy People 2020 guidelines. A low birth weight is considered to be less than 5.5 pounds. All OB/BYN Clinic patients, especially those with a high-risk pregnancy are closely monitored to remove any barriers to prenatal care such as, language, lack of insurance, transportation or social support. Despite the vulnerability of its patient population the OB/GYN Clinic has consistently met the goal of less than 5% of babies born at low birth weight for many years. More than any other statistic available, this measure proves that the services delivered, and the care given each expectant mother, are of the highest quality.
Chester County Hospital is committed to serving all of Chester County, PA's residents and continues to do so despite the difficult economic climate. Every effort is made to maintain a lean operation that delivers high quality care in a cost effective environment, an achievement recognized by the 2011 VHA Leadership Award for Supply Chain Management Excellence. Providing high quality care to all who need it is a fundamental mission of the Hospital and this commitment to the Chester County, PA community is unmatched by any other area hospital. We remain grateful for the generous philanthropic support received by the OB/GYN Clinic each year.
With special thanks to the following organizations and foundations for their financial support of the OB/GYN Clinic in fiscal year 2012: