MDNews - Central New York

hospital enough to change its name), lau nched t he Sy ra cuse Women's Hospita l a nd Tra ining School for Nurses. Crouse herself took the first five patients in her carriage to the home that housed the hospital. Much has changed in medicine and maternity care over the past 133 years at Crouse, but the commitment to put- ting mothers first is still the number one priority. T h e p h y s i c i a n s , n u r s e s a n d m idw ives at t he K ien z le Fa m i ly M a t er n it y C ent er de l iver c lo s e to 4,000 babies each yea r — more than any other hospita l in upstate New York. Crouse also serves as the Reg iona l Perinata l Center for the Central New York region. Mothers come from diverse and varied backgrounds and hail from the Southern Tier all the way to the Canadian border. Dr. Stanley says the nursing staff at Crouse has plenty of experience in treating different types of patient populations, which helps improve patient outcomes. "We have nurses who have been with Crouse for 20 to 30 years and more," Dr. Stanley says. LOW-RISK, HIGH-RISK AND EVERYTHING IN-BETWEEN The Kienzle Family Maternity Center is well known for its treatment of high-risk pregnancies, but most births each year are routine, low-risk births. "If moms don't want interventions, we don't want to do any unless we need to," Dr. Ciciarelli says. The experience levels of the staff are important for all births, says Stephen Brown, MD, FACOG, director of Low-Risk Obstetrics at Crouse Health and president of CNY Obstetrics & Gynecology. "I hear, 'He's the director of low-risk obstetrics, what's his experience with high-risk obstetrics?' Well, you never know when a pregnancy is going to go from low risk to high risk." Dr. Brown says. "In the past week, I had a set of twins and another preterm baby who are both in the NICU right now." Given the materna l and infant morta lity rates in the area, that level of ca re is crucia l. In 2016, the state of New York was ra nked 30th in the nation in materna l mor ta lity. A nd Onondaga County has averaged 6.7 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in recent years, one of the highest rates in the state. It a lso has an 8.6% rate of preterm births, with 7.9% of babies born underweight. "Crouse has 24-hour a nesthesia ca re onsite," Dr. Sta nley notes. " W hen emergencies happen, we don't have to ca ll a n a nesthesiolog ist. If a patient has unpla nned conditions that require intensive ca re, genera l surger y or neurosurger y, we have a ll those high-tech specia lists right here at our f inger tips." I n a dd it ion t o phy sici a n s a nd nurses, the maternity team includes lactation consultants, technicians and support staff. " We a re able to provide the one- on-one care our high-risk patients need," Dr. Ciciarelli says. And when neonatal intensive care is needed, the staff is ready. "We have the highest level of NICU care available 24-7," Dr. Brown says. "This gives patients confidence know- ing they're going to have anesthesia care and neonatal care available when they need it, if they need it. And it gives the physician — whether the pregnancy is low-risk or high-risk — the comfort level to say, 'Listen, we can do what's right. We can do it quickly. And we have backup in the NICU that's available to us at all times.'" SPECIAL CARE FOR TINY BABIES The Walter R.G. Baker Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Crouse serves up to 1,000 preterm and medically challenged babies each year. It is the only NICU in Central New York designated by the New York State Department of Health as a Regional Perinatal Center. "We take care of the sickest babies," says Brynne Stockton, RN, MSN, nurse manager of perinatal services. "We have highly skilled nurses who are always staying up-to-date with the latest evidence-based practices and the highest standards." " These are our neighbors — our friends. These are the people we see in the grocery store. In a city the size of Syracuse, you run into your patients nonstop. And I think it's a true team effort to provide the best care." — STEPHEN BROWN, MD, FACOG, DIRECTOR OF LOW-RISK OBSTETRICS AT CROUSE HEALTH AND PRESIDENT OF CNY OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY Susan Bartol, MD M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C E N T R A l N E W Y O R K ■ 2 0 2 0 0 7

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