Several health systems kicked off the year with notable expansions of women’s healthcare services and programs.
The expansions highlight health systems’ efforts to improve access to comprehensive women’s health services, including maternity care, postpartum follow-up and specialty gynecologic care. As some community hospitals scale back or end maternity services amid financial strain, workforce shortages and declining birth volumes, larger systems are increasingly positioned to take on more of the regional demand.
New York City-based NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest public health system in the U.S., has rolled out several new efforts to improve maternal healthcare at its Jacobi and North Central Bronx Hospitals. The facilities now offer shared appointments for mothers and their infants, aiming to reduce barriers to postpartum care. Since introducing this option, attendance for postpartum appointments at Jacobi has increased from 54% to 78%.
To better integrate mental healthcare services into OB-GYN units, the hospitals have trained staff in trauma-informed care and plan to add more reproductive psychologists.
Separately, NYC Health + Hospitals launched an endometriosis and pelvic pain program this month to improve gynecologic care across the system. The program offers various diagnostic services and treatments, including hormonal medication, multimodal pain medication, lifestyle medicine interventions and surgery. These conditions are often complex to diagnose and commonly misunderstood or dismissed.
“Our program is built to listen first, believe our patients, and deliver equitable, comprehensive, multidisciplinary care that provides coordinated, high-quality care across the continuum,” Wendy Wilcox, MD, chief women’s health officer at NYC Health + Hospitals, said in a Jan. 13 news release.
NYC Health + Hospitals is not the only system bolstering women’s health services. Pittsburgh-based UPMC recently expanded services from UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital to its UPMC Washington (Pa.) campus. The expansion offers local access to gynecologic oncology, minimally invasive surgery and maternal-fetal medicine, eliminating the need for patients to travel to Pittsburgh for care, according to a Jan. 7 news release.
New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health also opened a new women’s primary and specialty care practice in Astoria, N.Y., on Jan. 15. The 3,400-square-foot facility, $635,000 facility includes six exam rooms, a dedicated procedure room and an on-site ultrasound suite. It currently offers OB/GYN services and plans to add primary care and minimally invasive gynecologic surgery this year.
