EXPECTING EXCELLENCE

THE TEAM AT WOODLAWN HEALTH’S MATERNITY OASIS STRIVES FOR EXCEPTIONAL OBSTETRICAL AND NEONATAL CARE

The birth of a child is a life-changing experience, and expecting parents want to ensure that they and their child receive quality care. At Woodlawn Health’s Maternity Oasis, those concerns are the priority.

“The name ‘Oasis’ came about by accident,” says Woodlawn Health CEO Alan Fisher. “We were discussing our OB services with State Senator Stacey Donato and I just blurted out that we are surrounded by maternity deserts, and that we were like an oasis rising out of the desert.”

When Fisher talks about a maternity desert, he means that obstetrics care in many communities is nonexistent. He says the nearest provider of services to Fulton County is either Logansport or Warsaw.

That reality was also an opportunity to rebrand the Woodlawn birthing center and keep it in operation for the community, says Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Services Paula McKinney, “so that expecting mothers and babies have a place to go without traveling a long distance.”

Woodlawn Health’s Maternity Oasis is “a protected space for women to receive competent and compassionate obstetrical and neonatal care,” says Dr. Chris Ricketts, who has been delivering babies at Woodlawn for 20 years.

At the Maternity Oasis, patients receive traditional OB services from conception to delivery.

“Our concept of an OB oasis is not a reinvention of, or departure from, traditional maternity care,” says McKinney. “Instead, it is the delivery of traditional maternity care to the women and unborn babies of our surrounding area who face the challenge of obtaining competent care in our rural area.”

Three doctors are available for delivery services at Woodlawn Health, with two additional physicians joining their team in a few months. On staff now is Ricketts, a fellowship-trained doctor who can also provide C-sections, along with Dr. Debra Sanders and Dr. Brigitte Selio, who plans to attend a yearlong fellowship training beginning in August to learn how to perform C-Sections. Dr. Benjamin Adebayo is the full-time OBGYN provider.

In the next few months, two additional family practice providers will join the team at Woodlawn. These are Dr. Witt and Dr. Amadi, McKinney says.

“Woodlawn Health has extremely dedicated providers and nursing staff who are committed to providing care to our community,” McKinney says. “They live in the area and are serving people that they know, go to church with or see at the local grocery store.”

For expecting parents, Woodlawn Health’s Maternity Oasis provides access to highly skilled and compassionate providers and nursing staff, Woodlawn Health officials say. Those providing care adhere to the same evidence-based practices and standards as larger health care facilities. The use of the latest technology and a recent modification to the atmosphere of the center is also a plus for expecting parents.