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Amador County - Sutter Amador Hospital staff in Jackson officially welcomed the first baby of the new year, while at the same time celebrating new equipment for making that birth safer. Avery Leann Uselton arrived at 5:27 pm on January 2nd, weighing six pounds, 4 ounces and measuring 18 inches. She is the first child of Chandra and Nicholas Uselton of Pioneer. Her birthing process was made more effective through the use of a new Central Monitoring System obtained with the assistance of matching grants from the hospital. According to Laurie Chaveon, Sutter Amador Hospital Foundation Manager, the new equipment was needed in part because of the increasing average number of births taking place at the hospital. The birthrate at Sutter Amador has more than doubled from 15-18 births per month in 2006 to between 30 and 40 per month in 2008. When questioned why the birthrate has risen so dramatically, Chaveon credits a number of factors. “A couple of years ago we recruited a very popular OBGYN team of Dr. Robert Young and (Nurse Midwife) Christine Sullivan,” she said. She also credits the anesthesiology group that recently expanded their staff to be available 24/7. “Now that there are (anesthesiologists) available for full-time coverage, people who want pain management like epidurals can get them at any time and don’t have to travel long distances for hospital treatment,” Chaveon said. Most families in the area who are expecting usually come to birthing classes at the hospital and learn about Sutter Amador’s expanded programs. In addition, Mark Twain Hospital in San Andreas stopped delivering babies last year. “We have a highly dedicated, highly skilled staff…they consider babies they deliver as an extension of their own families,” she added. The new Central Monitoring System will allow a nurse or doctor to link individual monitoring units together and measure each mother’s wellbeing from one central location. The total cost of the system cost approximately $200,000, over half of which was obtained through local fundraising. Chaveon called the new system “a great way to be prepared”, adding, “babies never tell you when they’re coming.” Story by Alex Lane
Amador
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