Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1263581
Crouse Health: Where Family is the Foundation THE STAFF AT CROUSE HE AlTH'S KIENZlE FAMIlY MATERNIT Y CENTER SPEND SO MUCH TIME HElPING NE W FAMIlIES COME INTO E XISTENCE, THE Y'VE BECOME THEIR OWN WORKPl ACE FAMIlY, TOO. BY CARI WADE GERVIN W HEN YOU A SK physicians and staff what they love about working at Crouse Health's Kienzle Family Maternity Center in Syracuse, you hear one word over and over: camaraderie. "I feel like there's a lot of camaraderie, which you need," says Maria Ciciarelli, MD, FACOG, partner at CNY Women's Healthcare. "If an urgent situation arises, nurses, other physicians and other attendings on the floor are the first to jump in. I think that's one of the best things about working at Crouse here." Suzanne Bar tol, MD, FACOG, par tner at Lof tus, Ry u & Bartol agrees. "We all work together and help each other out," Dr. Bartol says. "But we are friends outside of being colleagues when we're at work. That goes on at all levels, from residents to nurses to attendings." This tight-knit collegiality is why so many OB/GYNs have stayed at Crouse since they started medical school rotations or their residencies — in Dr. Bartol's case, 19 years, and 16 years for Dr. Ciciarelli. It's also why the standard of maternity care is so high at Crouse, says George Stanley, MD, FACOG, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecolog y at Upstate Medical University and a Crouse-affiliated obstetrician. "We have a highly experienced and trusted team of obstetri- cians who look out for each other and are able to assist colleagues while teaching residents and medical students," Dr. Stanley says. "It's a different experience when you are managing difficult cases, deliveries and surgeries with a person who is in training. It means you, as the trainer, have to really know what you're doing to guide the trainee so they eventually will be as good as — or even surpass — your skill set." "What differentiates Crouse maternity care is the fact that we have an entire hospital team available for both patients and physicians," says Betty O'Connor, director of women's and infants services. "There are five members of our nursing leadership team available to assist physicians and prospective patients through the process of selecting a physician and hospital to have their birth experience." A HISTORY OF WOMAN-CENTERED CARE In 1887, no hospital in Syracuse offered maternity care or treated children. A group of 14 female community leaders, including Jessie Lansing Crouse (whose family would later fund the Brynne Stockton, RN, Nurse Manager (right) 0 6❱❱❱❱❱ C O V E R S T O R Y