October 13, 2009 - Newport Beach, CA:
Hoag is one of the first hospitals in Orange County to implement an OB
Hospitalists Program in its labor and delivery unit. Hoag’s specialized program
consists of board-certified Hoag OB-GYNs, who are onsite at the hospital 24
hours a day, seven days a week to provide the highest level of care to pregnant
and laboring women through immediate obstetrical consultation, emergency
management, and assistance in delivery or caesarean section.
“Hoag OB hospitalists provide increased patient safety and efficient,
streamlined care for OB inpatients, in concert with each patient’s
obstetrician,” said Dale Braithwaite,
M.D., physician director of the Hoag OB Hospitalist Program. “Women can be
assured that no matter when they come to Hoag, they will have immediate access
to a board-certified OB who specializes in emergency obstetrics.”
The Hoag OB Hospitalist Program does not change the relationship the patient
has with her physician. Instead, the role of the OB hospitalist is to provide a
safety net of timely, high-quality care, in coordination with other
specialists, for patients who present at the hospital with emergent needs. The
OB hospitalist is also an important component in ensuring safe management of
non-emergent obstetrical patients in conjunction with their private practice
physician.
While Hoag has offered OB night coverage for many years, the new comprehensive
OB Hospitalist Program was made possible in part by a grant given by the James
Easton Family Foundation. The grant supports the Easton Health in Pregnancy
Program (E-HIPP) at Hoag Hospital. The E-HIPP program was designed to enhance
Hoag’s quality obstetrical care and services for women who are pregnant, or
wish to become pregnant – specifically for those women who may be at increased
risk due to age or underlying medical conditions.
An integral component of the program is the in-house OB hospitalist, who is
solely devoted to providing around-the-clock care to Hoag’s OB inpatients. Hoag
has three full-time and four part-time board-certified Hoag-affiliated
obstetricians who serve as the Hoag OB Hospitalist Team and work in sync with
Hoag’s nursing staff, perinatalogists, and private practice obstetricians
affiliated with Hoag.
Another important fact in Hoag’s commitment to providing an expanded OB
Hospitalist Program is that women over age 35 represent more than 30 percent of
the deliveries at Hoag, almost twice the national average. “Because more women
are becoming pregnant later in life, and these women are at increased risk for
complications such as preterm labor, women over age 35 in particular, benefit
greatly from having immediate access to emergent obstetrical care,” added Dr.
Braithwaite.
About Hoag Memorial
Hospital Presbyterian
Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian (www.hoaghospital.org) is a 498-bed,
not-for-profit, acute care hospital located in Newport Beach, Calif. Fully
accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
and designated as a Magnet hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center
(ANCC), Hoag offers a comprehensive mix of health care services, including
Centers of Excellence in cancer, heart and vascular, neurosciences, orthopedics
and women’s health. National Research Corporation has endorsed Hoag as Orange
County’s most preferred hospital for the past 13 consecutive years. And for an
unprecedented 14 years, residents of Orange County have chosen Hoag as the
county’s best hospital in a local newspaper survey. In order to meet the
growing needs of Irvine and South County residents, Hoag will open an Irvine
campus in 2010. Hoag continues to offer additional services to the community through
the seven Hoag Health Centers located throughout Orange County.
# # #