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deliver babies at MetroHealth each year. The Fetal Diagnostic Center at MetroHealth offers prenatal evaluation of fetal abnormalities, growth disturbances and genetic conditions. It also provides services to monitor babies during complicated pregnancies. Stephen A. Myers, DO, is Director of this Center. An obstetrician, he is fellowship-trained and board-certified in maternal-fetal medicine. "The key is to make an accurate assessment. And we have lots of tools to do that, both in terms of diagnostic assessments and fetal status assessments," says Dr. Myers. "Sometimes that involves an invasive procedure. Sometimes it involves genetic diagnosis and/or parental evaluation. Sometimes there may be an indication that ongoing fetal monitoring is needed." If fetal echocardiography is indicated, Christine Tracy, MD, another Akron Children's pediatric cardiologist, performs the test at MetroHealth. Pregnancies with complications a ffecting the fetus of ten require focused and highly specialized surveillance to identify those who might benefit from specific treatments before birth for conditions such as red-cell or platelet alloimmunization, severe infections, urinary tract obstructions, fetal masses and fetal fluid collections, and twin-twin transfusion syndrome. Pregnancies with known severe fetal growth restriction or fetal malformations also need to be monitored. Dr. Myers points out that there are other considerations, as well — the optimal timing of the delivery, the optimum route of delivery, and the newborn's immediate care after delivery. This requires a lot of planning, and it's very individualized for each patient. "So after we make an assessment and determine the needs, we put together the appropriate team of people to meet that baby's needs and integrate that with the management of the pregnancy," he explains. "Everyone has their role. And at MetroHealth we understand that. That's the real Stephen A. Myers, DO, is Director of the Fetal Diagnostic Center at MetroHealth, where more than 2,900 newborns are delivered each year. An obstetrician, Dr. Myers is board-certified in maternal-fetal medicine. benefit of being cared for in a place where that kind of perspective is a given." Drs. Myers and Bockoven agree that their hospitals work very well together. They attribute this to their missions, which focus on serving the entire community. The mission of MetroHealth is to lead the way to a healthier "you" and a healthier community through service, teaching, discovery and teamwork. The mission of Akron Children's is to care for all children as staff would care for their own and to turn no child away for an inability to pay. "We're very mission-based hospitals," says Dr. Bockoven. "So it's a wonderful synergy for us to work together." For more information about pediat r ic c ardiolo g y at Me t roHealth, visit www.metrohealth.org/pedsheart. To refer a patient, call 216-778-2583 For inf or mat ion ab out the Perinatal Center at MetroHealth, visit w w w.m e t r oh e a lth .or g / hi g hr i sk ob. To refer a patient, call 216-778-5498. I SEPTEMBER- OCTOBER 2013 I MDNEWS.COM I MD NEWS Cleveland/Akron/Canton | 27