HouseCallVOLUME V ISSUE 2VOLUME VI ISSUE 360

YEARS | 1954 - 2014CELEBRAT ING

3D Mammography I Health Insurance Q & A I 60th Anniversary Celebration I Community OutreachFree Mammography And Womens Wellness Day I Ask The Doctor I History Minuteinside

HouseCallST. CLAIR HOSPITAL FAMILY BIRTH CENTER

Delivering Generations ofPittsburghers for 60 Years

UPCOMING HEALTH

INsUrANCE CHANGEs

AT sT. CLAIr.

How You MightBe Affected.

Please see page 18.

Q A&

Three generations of the Chiappetta family of Mt. Lebanon

Family birth center

2 I HouseCall I Volume VI Issue 3

WelcomeWorld!to the

The St. Clair Family Birth Center: delivering babies since 1954

When St. Clair Hospital opened its doors in 1954, those doors ledstraight to the Maternity Department, right off the main lobby onthe First Floor. The placement of the department in such a primespot reflected its significance to the brand new hospital, which was initially

developed to provide emergency care, medical-surgical care, and maternity

care to the people of the South Hills. Women would no longer need to be driven

long distances to have their babies; they could have them close to home, in

their own neighborhood. It was the fulfillment of a dream for the people of

the South Hills.

Sixty years later, St. Clair Hospital still places a high priority on offering

the best quality obstetrical care to the women of the community. Over the

decades, many things have changed in the care of mothers and babies, but

St. Clairs commitment to providing high quality obstetrical services stands

stronger than ever. The maternity unit of 1954 has undergone relocations

and transformations, evolving into the freshly renovated, sparkling, state-of-

the-art Family Birth Center that now welcomes more than 1,400 newborns

a year into the world.

Continued on page 4

At St. Clair Hospitals Family Birth Center, no birth is routine, and no baby is ordinary.

Every delivery is a miracle, and every baby, a wonder to behold. In the Family Birth

Center, the care is outstanding, and the environment matches the beauty of the work

that takes place there. It is an exceptional, special place within the Hospital, artfully

designed to blend the comforts of home with the clinical safety and quality of a first rate,

award-winning medical facility. For families of newborns, the Family Birth Center at

St. Clair Hospital is a place of welcome.

Volume VI Issue 3 I HouseCall I 3

clinical excellence comes First

At St. Clairs Family Birth Center, clinical excellence and patient safety

come first. A highly credentialed team of board-certified obstetricians and

pediatricians, plus a team of expert nurses, provides the highest quality,

advanced care to mothers and babies. The Family Birth Center staff prides

itself on its outstanding record of safe deliveries and healthy newborns.

For obstetrician Stephanie S. Brown, M.D., St. Clair is an ideal facility

for childbirth. St. Clair is a very safe place to have a baby, she says.

We have excellent outcomes.

St. Clair is distinctive among hospitals for the quality and range of

pediatric services that complement the excellent obstetric department.

Since 1994, St. Clair has had 24-hour, in-house pediatric coverage, led by

Dayle B. Griffin, M.D., a board-certified pediatric hospitalist, plus a team

of pediatricians with advanced training. A pediatrician attends every

C-section, premature birth, and high-risk birth, such as the delivery of

multiples, and manages the care of the infants who require care in the

Family Birth Centers Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The

NICU has a nurse-baby ratio of 1:1 to 1:3, depending on acuity, and a

maximum of six babies, who may need antibiotics, oxygen, monitoring,

or more time to grow. Every infant born at St. Clair receives a hearing

screening and CCHD screening, a simple yet extremely important test

that helps in the early identification of critical

congenital heart defects.

I think so highly of Dr. Griffin and

her team, says obstetrician

Tera S. Conway, M.D. Knowing that

an excellent pediatrician is always

here, immediately available, gives

comfort to parents and enhances

our quality of care.

Dr. Griffin takes pride in the high quality of pediatric services at

St. Clair. Our team of expert pediatric hospitalists provides round-the-clock

coverage, so families can feel confident that their baby is in good hands

and that any problems that might arise will be skillfully managed, she

says. We have 70 pediatricians on staff here who come to St. Clair to

provide care for their newborn patients; our hospitalists stay in contact

with them to assure a smooth transition from the Hospital. Its important

to all of us that our mothers take home healthy babies. Our entire team of

obstetricians, nurses, pediatric hospitalists, and community pediatricians

works toward that goal.

First rate Facilities and a Warm, safe environment

The Family Birth Center features 11 LDRP (labor, delivery, recovery,

postpartum) rooms, plus eight post-partum rooms that blend beauty and

functionality. The rooms are ingeniously designed to camouflage the

technology without sacrificing safety or efficiency, and are fully equipped

for emergencies. The transformation from labor room to delivery room

happens expeditiously, and most of the time, the new family stays together

in the same room. According to Linda McIntyre, RN, MSN, director of

Women and Children Services, the Family Birth Center environment is

both aesthetically pleasing and therapeutic. We have a beautiful

environment with spacious rooms that are almost twice the size of the

average hospital room. The dcor is homelike and tranquil, with the

amenities of a hotel and the clinical safety of a hospital. Our unit is

private and secure.

4 I HouseCall I Volume VI Issue 3

Continued from page 3

Family birth center

14 obstetricians deliver babies Reputation for overall excellence Highly credentialed obstetricians and nurses Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Leading-edge labor and delivery suites 24-hour pediatrician coverage

The Family Birth Center at St. Clair

New parents Catherine O'Hara, M.D. and Benjamin Susco, M.D.brought son Nathan back to the Family Birth Center to showhim to staff, including Sharon Johnson, RNC, clinical supervisorof the FBC, and Linda McIntyre, RN, MSN, director of Womenand Children Services.

All of the Hospitals LDRP rooms blend beauty and functionality.

Volume VI Issue 3 I HouseCall I 5

Phenomenal nurses

The Family Birth Center offers a warm embrace to newborn families,

with the reassurance of a highly competent, experienced, and caring

nursing staff. If you have your baby at St. Clair Hospital, you will receive

care that is clinically excellent, personalized, and family centered. Youll

leave here feeling confident that you can take care of your baby. Youll feel

supported every step of the way, promises Sharon Johnson, RNC,

clinical supervisor of the Family Birth Center. Sharon knows of what she

speaks: she has 32 years of obstetric nursing experience and gave birth

to all three of her own children at St. Clair. Our professional team is our

greatest asset. We have the best nursing staff and great obstetricians.

The nurses are all RNs and are cross-trained to care for both mothers

and babies. We have a sub-group of nurses who are Level II neonatal

nurses, able to stabilize and care for babies with special needs. We have

great depth of experience on our staff and nursing education is a constant.

Women in labor receive one-to-one nursing care, and as often as

possible, continuity is provided by having the same nurse provide

postpartum care for the mother and her baby. Mothers receive thorough

education in infant care and feeding, and strong support for breastfeeding,

according to Sharon. We have lactation consultants on staff and we

promote the benefits of breastfeeding. We also have breastfeeding

classes and a support group. We encourage skin-to-skin contact at

delivery, and first-day pumping. Our lactation consultants are available

to mothers after discharge, and our staff nurses are available 24/7 by

phone to answer parents questions.

Sharon says that obstetric nursing is uniquely rewarding. Theres

a bond between the nurse and the parents. Helping a couple through

childbirth is an intense and intimate experience; it means something

to the parents that you were there helping them at this incredibly

important event. It can be emotional: when you see a father crying at

delivery, when you place a baby in a mothers arms for the first time.

You cant help but be moved. Emotion is part of the job.

Dr. Griffin says that the Family Birth Centers phenomenal nurses

are versatile, dedicated, and committed to excellence. Our nurses take

time with the mothers and give them personal care and individualized

teaching. It makes a difference.n

IhavefIrst-handexperIenceandIcansaythatthequalIty

ofthecare,thequalItyof

therooms,thepersonalattentIon,

andthenurse-patIentratIo

aresecondtonone.

NEW MOM CATHERINE OHARA, M.D.,HOSPITALIST IN INTERNAL MEDICINE,ST. CLAIR HOSPITAL

Continued on page 6