Oh Baby 21
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Top-Notch OB Care at South County Hospital By ANNA MARIA TRUSKY Special to The Sun
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hen Dr. Andy Neuhauser learned that Westerly Hospital would no longer offer obstetrical care, he was sad to contemplate leaving the healthcare institution where he’d brought babies into the world for more than two decades. However, after a year at South County Hospital in Wakefield, Dr. Neuhauser is happy to say that he feels right at home! “Despite the fact that OB care is no longer provided in Westerly, patients have a nearby alternative with a highly competent team of people ready and willing to take care of them on a 24-by-7 basis,” he says. Dr. Neuhauser elected to move to the Wakefield hospital for several reasons. “South County is similar to Westerly in many ways—it has a nice, community feeling. The quality of clinical care is excellent. The culture is friendly and upbeat and morale is very high,” he explains. And one of the best parts, he points out, is that he gets to work with quite a few familiar colleagues. “Many of the nurses from Westerly have also found a new home at South County,” Dr. Neuhauser notes. “It is a real bonus to have a lot of experienced delivery nurses and lactation consultants on staff as well as the six doctors and three midwives, who are wonderful.”
daughters have moved to Chicago and Los Angeles. Although he and his wife are enjoying some travel time— and he hopes to do medical work on a volunteer basis globally in the near future—Dr. Neuhauser plans to continue his local practice for many years to come. “The average age OBGYN physicians quit obstetrics is 47. People get tired of all stress and strain and the late nights,” he acknowledges. “But at South County the hours are easier; with more physicians as well as midwives to care for patients, there are fewer middle-of-the-night trips to the hospital. I love what I do and I have no plans to retire.” That’s great news for OBGYN patients in southern Rhode Island! Dr. Neuhauser started his medical career in the U.S. Navy after obtaining his medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine. Board certified in obstetrics and gynecology, Dr. Neuhauser completed his residency at the U.S. Naval Hospital in San Diego. He is an adjunct professor in nursing at the University of Rhode Island. Another member of the outstanding OB staff at South County Hospital’s Center for Women’s Health is NurseMidwife Lori Kelley, who also worked at Westerly Hospital until obstetric care was eliminated there. A Certified Nurse Midwife, Kelly has delivered more than 1,000 babies since she entered the midwifery profession in 1998.
Dr. Andy Neuhauser OBGYN
Dr. Neuhauser is happy to report that many of his previous patients have “weathered the storm and followed me to South County. I have done several deliveries for longtime patients from Westerly. South County is only a short drive up Route 1. There are very few lights, so it takes only about 20 minutes to get up here. I tell my Westerly patients they don’t even have to get on Route 95 to have their babies!” At South County, Dr. Neuhauser performs between 10 and 15 deliveries per month; the group as a whole delivers between 60 and 70 babies per month. He sees OBGYN patients in Wakefield as well as at South County’s new Charlestown office, and he still has office hours in Westerly. “I love Westerly—it’s been my home since 1990 and I raised my kids here,” Dr. Neuhauser notes. His two grown
After Lori received her midwife nursing degree from the University of Rhode Island and her nursing degree from Rhode Island College, she worked for 12 years as a labor and delivery nurse at Women and Infant’s Hospital in Providence, as well as at Partners for OBGYN and the Center for Women, before working at Westerly Hospital. As she approaches her one-year anniversary, Lori is thankful to be at South County now. “I live only five minutes away, which is great—especially when I get calls in the middle of the night,” Kelley says. “South County is very friendly and welcoming. You can’t walk down a hallway without someone saying hello. The providers are great and very committed to our patients. A lot of nurses from Westerly went to South County, which is wonderful for our former patients, who like to see familiar faces.” One testament to South County’s outstanding obstetric care is that its rate for Caesarian-section procedures is far below the national average. “The national average hospital rate for C-section births is between 33 and 35 percent, but South County’s is only 12 percent. The staff is very patient and nobody’s in a rush to get home. If a C-section is performed, that’s because everything else has been tried first to help a
patient have a normal delivery,” Kelley explains. At South County, the labor, delivery, recovery, and post-partum care all occur in the same room, so patients aren’t rushed out of a room to be moved somewhere else, Kelley points out. “The hospital encourages breast feeding and many of the nurses are certified lactation consultants. We also have a tub that is used to facilitate delivery for women who wish to avoid anesthesia. It looks like something you would find in a spa.”
Nurse-Midwife Lori Kelley
“We spend as much time as we can with patients, so they get much more individualized attention than they would in a larger hospital,” Kelley notes. “Recently I got a call from a patient I’d helped with her first delivery. She was determined to get through it without anesthesia. I spent time with her and we got her into the tub to help relieve her pain. It was a beautiful birth. She said, ‘Thank God you were there because if you hadn’t been I would have needed anesthesia.’ It brought tears to my eyes.” Kelley has been happy to see many former patients from Westerly. “One of my patients delivered her first two children at Westerly Hospital and just had her third at South County. It is sad that Westerly lost its obstetric care, but South County is really helping to make up for that loss.” Kelley herself has four grown children. One is in residency to become a physician, another is a nurse who recently has her first baby, a third lives in California and recently became engaged, and the fourth is still at home. Married for 33 years, Kelley is an avid biker who takes a biking trip to Europe every year “This year we plan to go to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland,” Kelley says. “It has become quite a family event. My sisters will be coming, as well as my cousin and her husband and my father and uncle, who are both in their eighties. We laugh, have fun, and create great memories.” Kelley also enjoys running, reading, and knitting. “Knitting is a great hobby for midwives, because we do a lot of waiting,” she says with a smile.