Left-to-right: Pamela Robinson, program director, and Tania Bird, a charge nurse with the maternal/child care unit, are seen here outside the new NPR clinic. /NHH photo
Years in the making, there’s an exciting new addition at Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) to advance women’s care in the region.
What’s more, there are also plans for future expansion, which could mean better access to specialists for area residents.
And that’s not all.
That was Department Chief of Maternal Child Care Services at NHH Dr. Erin Pepper.
As previously reported, the launch of the newborn, perinatal, reproductive care clinic (NPR) at NHH was officially announced earlier this month.
The clinic will provide in-hospital, non-urgent ambulatory services to support a co-ordinated approach to women’s wellness and newborn health in antenatal and postpartum phases of care for patients across Northumberland, said NHH, following the announcement.
Pepper said the addition will see some current services transition to the clinic, but it has also created room to grow.
And the addition also translates to some immediate exciting new care options, with an emphasis on unattached patients.
The new clinic is located on the second floor of the hospital near the maternal/child inpatient unit and has two exam rooms and a dedicated waiting area on 2A. It isn’t a walk-in clinic – it’s booked appointments only. (All patients require a booked appointment with an NHH provider.)
The clinic is currently operating Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The clinic currently serves obstetrical patients attached to delivering care providers at NHH and newborns (from birth to six weeks), including newborns recently discharged from the hospital, explained NHH staff.
There will also be postpartum follow-up for wound assessment and hypertension options, care for expectant patients requiring RhoGAM, non-stress tests, bloodwork or blood pressure monitoring, as well as early pregnancy complications follow-up and education and navigation help to community and specialty resources, adds staff.
Pepper noted bringing this clinic to life has been in the works for about two-to-three years now.
“It started with a need to see some of our outpatient volumes somewhere other than labour and delivery, where we are technically an inpatient unit and sometimes can be quite busy.”
In other words, the hope is that this clinic will also look different as it evolves, including with the addition of visiting specialists, continued Pepper.
“There’s lots of room to grow.”
In the meantime, there is another new service being rolled out – the addition of a first trimester complications clinic at the site.
“This will be for people who are having bleeding during their early pregnancy or unfortunately, pregnancy loss,” explained Pepper. “Unfortunately, a lot of these women end up in the emergency room and then do require follow-up care by an obstetrician often after repeating bloodwork and ultrasounds.
“And so, we’re hoping to eliminate the need for them to come back to the emergency room, where obviously it’s busy and noisy, and sometimes they’re waiting for long periods of time and it’s not the nicest place to get bad news.”
In these instances, these patients will be referred to the clinic from the ER and have their follow-up care organized together.
There’s also the addition of a unit clerk at the new clinic, which will help with some pregnancy navigation, answering inquiries and providing resources to the public, added Pepper.
NHH noted earlier that for patients without OHIP, some services may not be covered and could involve a fee at the clinic.
Expecting families can learn more about NHH services online.
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)
