Charlotte, N.C.'s first nonhospital-based birth center opens this weekend, roughly one block away from 622-bed Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center, The Charlotte Observer reports.
Mothers who chose to give natural childbirth in the spa-like setting of the birth center will receive support by one of the three certified nurse midwives who staff the center.
The midwives can provide everything from prenatal checkups to deliveries and follow-up care at the center for low-risk pregnancies. For higher-risk pregnancies or if something goes wrong, the midwives have support from Novant Health just up the street, according to the report.
"We want to make sure those patients can get to us in minutes," Chris Morris, MD, the medical director of the birth center and a physician at Providence OB/GYN, told the Observer. "We have tried to walk through every possible scenario...to make this as safe as possible for moms who choose to deliver there."
The birth center is a collaboration between Novant Health and Arkansas-based freestanding birth center operator Baby And Company.
More articles on capacity management:
Seniors with dementia frequent ED, incur high costs and poor outcomes: 4 findings
From bed management to workflow management and experience orchestration
13th annual TeleTracking client conference centers on making the impossible possible