New Hospitalist Program At Palms West Hospital Raises The Bar For Obstetrics Story by Deborah Welky • Photos by Abner Pedraza
The obstetrics service at Palms West Hospital first began delivering babies in 1989. Back then, as in many hospitals today, a nurse would monitor the progress of the expectant mother, then call the doctor to come when the time was right. But babies can be unpredictable. “Obstetrics is a risky business, and when it’s risky, there needs to be someone there immediately,” said Dr. Seth Herbst, one of the founders of the obstetrics program. Dr. Steven Pliskow has also been a fixture of the obstetrics program at Palms West Hospital for the past 25 years. “At that time, we were only doing 10 to 20 deliveries a month, and now we are doing 120 deliveries a month,” he said. Today, the New Life Center at Palms West Hospital is being sought out by parents-to-be because there is always a doctor there. The recently instituted Hospitalist program guarantees it. “The Hospitalist program is a group of doctors that provide 24/7 coverage to labor and delivery, basically turning the labor and delivery unit into an obstetrical emergency room,” said Dr. Isidro Martinez, who was with the Hospitalist program at Broward General for eight years prior to signing on with Palms
West Hospital. “When a patient goes there with a problem, there’s already a doctor present, ready to see the patient. That’s how it differs from all the other labor and delivery units in the area. Elsewhere, they have to call that doctor at home. He’s not there at the hospital.” The Hospitalist program provides the continuous presence of an obstetrician on site. “If you show up with an emergency, we are there to assist the private doctors,” Martinez said. “This guarantees that no delivery happens unattended by an obstetrician.” Director of Women’s Services Toni Ahern said that this is an important distinction. “When you go to the ER, your expectation is to see a physician,” Ahern said. “That is the same expectation the OB unit has for every patient that arrives in our unit. The Hospitalist is there until the patient’s physician arrives. This is so important, especially with high-risk
The New Life Center at Palms West Hospital has a highly educated staff with advanced certifications.
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july 2015 | wellington the magazine
pregnancies and deliveries, including the increased demand for a vaginal delivery after a C-section. The OB Hospitalist is just one way that Palms West Hospital has fully invested in the New Life Center.” That program is just one of several that sets Palms West Hospital apart. “The New Life Center is dedicated to providing our new families with holistic support in our expanded lactation program,” Ahern added. “The 24-hour nursery is staffed with experienced nurses, and we have a state-of-the-art infant security system, ensuring the safety of our smallest patients. The New Life Center has two operating room suites dedicated to C-sections directly on the OB unit. Our anesthesiologists are dedicated to the OB unit.” Ahern has been at Palms West Hospital since 1990, moving from New Jersey, where she trained at a trauma center that had a Level 3 neonatal intensive care unit. “That is where my passion for neonatal, labor and delivery first began,” Ahern said. “We would receive the sickest babies from all over New Jersey to care for. When I first came to Palms West, it was a quintessential neighborhood hospital, with a new, modestly sized labor and delivery unit. The unit itself was staffed by a small but dedicated group of nurses. Because of its size, we would transfer our sickest babies to specialized hospitals when needed. This was always done with the health of the baby in mind.” But the new parents, left behind at such a critical and emotional juncture, felt worried and anxious. “Over time, we realized that we could provide this specialized care within our