Collier County’s maternity care needs your help.
Obstetrical care is experiencing a crisis in our country. Not only do we have the greatest rate of pregnancy-related deaths among all industrialized nations, but hospitals all throughout the nation are closing their labor and delivery departments. This past year, more than 250 labor and delivery units were shut down, creating “deserts of maternity care” across the nation.
According to a recent March of Dimes survey, 36% of counties in the United States lack access to obstetrical care, mostly in the Midwest and South. This has an impact on 500,000 newborns and nearly 7 million moms. These women are more likely to experience pregnancy-related problems and outcomes, such as death, according to a recent article by Dr. Betsy Brothers of Fort Myers News-Press.
Due to the kind donations of the Naples community, including the Bill and Julia Van Domelen Foundation, which has made a significant investment in NCH and has a unique vision for our city, NCH has been able to continue providing services while other hospitals are eliminating units. The Naples Children & Education Foundation is another noteworthy donor, as is cooperation with important community partner organizations. With their help, we opened a much-needed OB emergency department (OB ED) in 2021, and since then, we have saved the lives of several mothers and infants.
A recent instance had a pregnant woman who arrived with her water ruptured and the baby’s umbilical cord prolapsing—a situation that almost resulted in death. The baby was delivered via safe C-section within 12 minutes of arriving at the hospital, thanks to our new OB-ED. With the help of our team of doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, the complete Labor & Delivery, Mother & Baby, NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), and Maternal Fetal Medicine personnel, as well as a very helpful administration, none of this would be possible. Working together with top authorities in the field of specialist pediatric medicine, such as Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, which provides world-class care close to home for parents, strengthens these efforts even more.
NCH is grateful and dedicated to offering these services to the numerous marginalized women and children in our community. Since 1956, we have been the only and primary provider of this care in Collier County, giving birth to 3,700 infants annually. Though more than 60% of the families treated at NCH are underinsured or uninsured, this does come at a cost to the hospital. For our high-risk population, we need more and safer services, such as accessible, high-quality healthcare, inexpensive transportation, drugs to address complicated medical conditions, and other services that need funding. Federal and state funding alone cannot meet the demands of this growing community.
Community support has been and still is critical to maintaining and growing our care for the mothers and infants in this situation. To obtain additional information regarding delivering secure and high-quality medical care to our patients who are at risk, please contact the NCH at (239) 624-2000.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press
