Issue link: http://southshoremagazine.uberflip.com/i/1291546
TheSouthShoreMagazine.com 29 the patient's room, the entire birth team continually updates the board with information while making assessments, addressing concerns and planning during labor. A little over two years after being chosen as the pilot site for this one-of-a-kind study, South Shore Hospital continues to embrace Team Birth, and has seen a noticeable decrease in its first time C-Section rate, while continuing to improve communication, patient satisfaction and outcomes during childbirth. "Anything we can do to provide better outcomes for our patients is something we believe strongly in," says Dr. Dever, MD. "The OB ED is another tool in our robust family-centered program designed to provide a critical safety net to pregnant women in the community." Having a baby is one of life's most memorable treasures. South Shore Health knows that every woman has a vision for her pregnancy and childbirth experience, and they are committed to sharing in that vision throughout pregnancy and beyond. Along the way, if things don't go quite as expected, South Shore Health has the expertise to care for women and their babies, around the clock. To learn more about South Shore Health's maternal services and the state's first obstetric emergency department, visit SouthShoreHealth.org/OBED. evaluation. Now, women who are 20 weeks or more pregnant with pregnancy-related emergencies may skip the traditional hospital emergency room experience and go straight to the second floor OB ED. There, an on-site, board-certified physician or CNM with expertise in labor and delivery—including advanced training in fetal monitoring, risk management and operative delivery— will evaluate and treat the expecting mother. Kimberly Dever, MD, Vice President, Medical Affairs and Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology, expressed her excitement over the creation of the department as well as the important services it will provide to patients. "The OB ED program will promote continuity of care, patient safety, expedited treatment and better outcomes for pregnant women over 20 weeks of gestation," Dr. Dever said. "Expectant mothers can leave the hospital with the peace of mind that comes with knowing their concerns are being managed with specialized expertise." This new service underscores South Shore Health's commitment to quality in their maternal services program, a program that brings over 3,000 babies into the world each year. Additionally, the program is home to the region's only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)—dually affiliated with both South Shore Hospital and Boston Children's Hospital—providing the most advanced neonatal care and services for infants born before 32 weeks' gestation, as well as babies born with critical illnesses. South Shore Health's expertise, vision and desire to build a better system of care during childbirth put them on the national map in 2018, when South Shore Hospital was chosen as the first hospital in the country to launch the "Team Birth" project. In collaboration with Ariadne Labs, a joint center between Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the project aims to empower all members of the birth team (including the mother and her birth partner) to have an equal voice, communicate openly and practice in shared decision-making throughout the labor and delivery process. Using a simple, modified whiteboard as a communication tool in Kimberly Dever, MD, Chair of Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Brad Smith Photography