A Team Working for You

Quality women’s healthcare where relationships matter

Whether experiencing the joy of a first birth, confiding in a doctor about the drudgeries of menopause, or taking precautionary steps to prevent disease, OBGYN services are an important part of every woman’s healthcare. Because choosing an OBGYN is so personal in nature, it’s important to make sure that choice provides the options, hands on experience, and accessibility that fit each person’s lifestyle. That’s why the Women’s Center at Memorial Health Meadows Hospital focuses on a treatment approach that offers full access to women’s healthcare and employs cutting edge technology and services.

“We used to refer to just the office as the Memorial Health Meadows Women’s Center, but now that name also includes the birthing center and gynecological services at the hospital,” said Dr. Susanna Meredith, MD, FACOG. “Everything is under one umbrella with three physicians, three nurse practitioners and two midwives.”

By streamlining the Memorial Health Meadows Women’s Center to include all aspects of care from yearly exams that take place in the office to birthing and procedures that take place at the hospital, patients receive improved communication, greater service options and access to the best healthcare.

“We have a great team approach,” said Dr. Meredith. “Our nurse practitioners are all excellent and very experienced in women’s health. We are fortunate to have them. We also have two ultrasonographers in the office, which is pretty unique. This creates a lot of flexibility. The nurse practitioners can be at the office, while us doctors go back and forth supervising, seeing patients and helping with deliveries. So, the patient always gets the best care in a timely fashion, and everything runs smoother.”

Having midwives available is another important part of the Memorial Health Meadows Women’s Center’s approach to healthcare. The two certified nurse midwives on staff are available around the clock offering a more holistic approach to birthing. With a recent national push by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) to reduce the number of patient C-sections, midwives are becoming more prominent. “They can perform a vaginal delivery on their own, and they do a lot of things that we don’t,” said Dr. Meredith, “like manipulating the baby’s position, special birthing positions and using balls to help with labor.” They are also an added benefit to the team effort. “Like the nurse practitioners, the midwives can assess someone who comes into the hospital while, say, the doctors are in surgery. Then they report back to us. It is definitely a team effort, and it allows patients to have more personalized care. They don’t have to wait, they get immediate face-to-face attention, and we doctors still know everything that is going on.”

The Memorial Health Meadows Women’s Center also offers many services for women who aren’t planning for a pregnancy, but want to be proactive about their health. Colposcopy procedure for an abnormal pap smear, endometrial biopsies and cervical biopsies can be performed right in the office. They offer a variety of modern and effective birth control options, too. If a patient requires surgery, they are transitioned to the hospital side of the Women’s Center where the same doctors use state of the art technology to perform the procedure. “We want to be the first choice for OBGYN care, so we are focused on offering quality options and treating each patient on a personal level,” said Dr. Meredith. “Everyone at the Memorial Health Meadows Women’s Center is hands-on and caring.”

One of the latest additions to the hospital is the use of robotic surgery. While it may sound like something from a science fiction movie, it actually allows doctors to perform many types of complex procedures with more precision, flexibility and control than is possible with conventional techniques. Like laparoscopy, it is used for minimally invasive surgeries that only require small ports of entry rather than large incisions. However, it allows for a more advanced surgery comparable to an open procedure. “It’s been compared to putting your head and hands in the patient’s abdomen without making a big incision,” said Dr. Meredith. “You are looking at everything in 3D, and you can kind of get around things easier.”

As if a small incision wasn’t reason enough, the robotic surgery also has the added bonus of a quicker healing time. “The recovery is what I’ve really been amazed about. I’ve actually had patients that had pretty detailed surgery, but because of the small incision, went home the same day and with very minimal pain.”

Dr. Ashlee Nicole Tillery of the Women’s Center learned how to use the robotic technology during her residency. Dr. Meredith spent the past year completing her training. Learning the new technique was both “stressful and exciting,” admits Dr. Meredith, but in the end she says, “I’ve been operating for 17 years, this is just a new modality–just a different way of doing the same thing.”

One of the best parts of working at the Memorial Health Meadows Women’s Center is celebrating new births. “This year is projected to be a big year for us,” said Dr. Meredith. In August, there were 94 births, which was a record during Dr. Meredith’s 13 years at the hospital. Even with large numbers of deliveries, the focus is always on quality. “We want all of our patients to have a great experience here. We take care of a lot of high risk patients because the high risk facilities are so far away. But we do a really good job taking care of them.”

In 2021, the hospital and the Memorial Health Meadows Women’s Center came under the guidance of HCA Healthcare, and Dr. Meredith is quick to point out the benefits. “My responsibility is to my patients. I decide what form of care is best for them, but we also work as a team here. If I feel like the patient needs the input of someone different like an GYN oncologist or a maternal fetal medicine doctor, I know exactly who to call. We have doctors on call 24/7, a local OR that’s readily accessible, and access to the best technology. We offer a safe, quality environment where relationships are still important.”

And relationships are important, especially if you are having a baby or dealing with women’s health issues, or if you are from the same small town. “I’m really proud of what we have created at the Memorial Health Meadows Women’s Center. I like to remind people that I see my patients at church, the grocery store and the soccer field. These are my friends and neighbors. I’m going to make extra sure they get the safest and best care possible.”

Memorial Health Meadows Women’s Center staff includes, front left to right, Christy Brocato, ARNP, CNM, Dr. Stanley Morgan, MD, FACOG, Angel Gilreath, CNM; back left to right, Dr. Susanna Meredith, MD, FACOG, Katie Collins, NP, Ashley Adams, NP, Dr. Ashlee Nicole Tillery, MD, and Taylor Andre, NP

Meet the Staff

DOCTORS

Stanley C. Morgan, MD, FACOG Obstetrics and Gynecology

Ashlee Nicole Tillery, MD Obstetrics and Gynecology

Susanna M Meredith, MD, FACOG Obstetrics and Gynecology

NURSE PRACTITIONERS

Ashley Adams, NP

Taylor Andre, NP

Katie Collins, NP

MIDWIVES

Angel Gilreath, CNM

Christy Brocato, ARNP, CNM

For more information about Memorial Health Meadows Women’s Center contact us at 101 Harris Industrial Blvd, Unit C Vidalia, GA 30474 912-537-1014