Tuesday, 31 October 2006 23:08

Mark Twain/St Joseph's Closes Maternity Unit- Will There Be Impacts At Sutter Amador?

PictureWith Calaveras County’s only hospital, Mark Twain St. Joseph's Hospital announcing that it is temporarily suspending all maternity services effective today the big question is will Sutter Amador Hospital be able to handle the additional load. According to Sutter Amador Spokesperson Jody Boetzer the answer is a firm “Yes”. Boetzer states that Sutter Amador Hospital operates a Family Birth Center and has the capacity to serve additional patients in need of obstetrical care. The Family Birth Center is an eight-bed maternity unit that offers all-in-one labor, delivery and recovery rooms in a caring and comfortable setting. 

Picture In addition to Childbirth Education Classes offered, the Family Birth Center also offers pain management, virtual nursery email announcements, the Breastfeeding Success Group, Boot Camp for New Dads, OB online registration, midwifery and the lactation pump rental station. To add to the continuity of care for women in our community, Sutter Amador Women’s Services providers, Dr. Young; Christine Sullivan, PhD, MSN, certified nurse midwife; Gloria Kent, RNC, certified nurse practitioner and Christina Garamendi, RN will be moving into a new office space in our Outpatient Services Center. In addition, our transfer agreement has recently been updated with Mark Twain St Joseph’s Hospital making transition for those patients seamless. Mark Twain St. Joseph Hospital officials said they made the decision because they are unable to get enough doctors and nurses with the appropriate skills to attend births. There were 142 babies born at the hospital in 2005, a spokesman for Mark Twain said. Hospital Interim President Larry Philipp said the hospital has only one obstetrician. He said the unit should be reopened in four to six months once the staffing problems are resolved.

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