Providers in ScionHealth’s Hospital in Idaho Spotlighted for Quality Care in Labor and Delivery
Three practitioners who lead the “Family Beginnings” maternity care unit at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center were recently featured in a Lewiston Tribune article highlighting their success in delivering babies despite the challenges of practicing in a rural community.
Dr. Alex Watson, obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN), and certified nurse midwives Andrea Hedrick and Nicole Jones, together helped deliver approximately 600 babies last year at St. Joseph Regional, with Watson – the only OB-GYN practicing in the Lewis-Clark Valley – delivering about 270 of those babies. St. Joseph Regional is a 145-bed ScionHealth community hospital located in Lewiston, Idaho.
Despite the heavy load (due to the recent retirements of other OB-GYN practitioners), the Family Beginnings team ably assisted expectant mothers, and in the process, helped the hospital continue to earn recognition as a high performer in several maternity measures.
In December, U.S. News & World Report recognized St. Joseph’s as a best hospital for maternity care, singling out the hospital for excellence in areas that included minimizing avoidable cesarean sections. C-sections accounted for 17% of births at St. Joseph’s, compared to 32% nationally. The hospital was also recognized for its high breastfeeding rates, and high success rate for women delivering vaginally after a previous C-section. The year prior, U.S. News recognized St. Joseph Regional as a Maternity Care Access Hospital, one of only 73 hospitals nationwide to receive that designation.
The article notes the growth in the midwifery profession in part due to the dearth of OB-GYNs in the area. Hedrick went back to school to be a certified nurse-midwife after her years of experience working as a labor and delivery nurse, and Jones became a CNM after her positive experience as Hedrick’s patient.
St. Joseph Regional is expected to hire additional providers in the coming months, which should provide some relief to the current Family Beginnings team. You can read the full article here.