2023 HEALTH CARE EDITION
ACCESSIBILITY TO CARE
LEVELING UP
Only about 6% of the state has high access to a hospital with OB care or a birth center with Comal County being one of the 32 counties in Texas with moderate access. Around 82% of the state is considered to have low or no access.
Local hospitals are expanding the capabilities of their women’s services departments to keep up with the growing demand and allow patients to receive care close to home. Christus Santa Rosa-New Braunfels • New MRI-guided breast biopsy procedure • Specialists in breast, colon and rectal surgery • Updated NICU equipment • Every Baby Matters program: nurses check in with home visits
2,804
386
Resolute Baptist Hospital • Adding beds in labor and delivery • Initiated laborist program • Plans to expand to a Level III NICU by 2027 • Dedicated obstetrical anesthesia services • Couplet Care allows mother and baby to be cared for by the same nurse in the same room • Lactation support with Texas Ten Step services
Hays
Kendall
1,662
Comal Comal
Access to birth care
1,902
Full access
Guadalupe
25,228
Bexar
Moderate access
• Accredited baby-friendly hospital for breast feeding • Pursuing a certi ed nurse midwives program
No access
Total births by county in 2019
N
SOURCE: CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: RESOLUTE BAPTIST HOSPITAL, CHRISTUS SANTA ROSA NEW BRAUNFELS COMMUNITY IMPACT
clinic,” Rucker said. “And we are work- ing on a relationship with another clinic that we’ll be able to bring in a full-service midwife clinic to add ve more certi ed nurse midwives.” According to Anna Akin, clinical director of the Labor and Delivery Department at Christus Santa Rosa, half of the maternal deaths in Texas last year occurred in postpartum. “Typically, you see a doctor 13 times in a row before you have a baby and then one time after,” Akin said. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the maternal mortality rate increased throughout the country in recent years. In 2021, 32.9 deaths were recorded per 100,000 live births, compared to 23.8 in 2020. Future outlook Bernard said Resolute Baptist o - cials are looking forward to expanding
the capabilities of its women’s ser- vices department. “We’re really trying to do two things: trying to create access and of course, provide a great experience because health care is pretty much a repeat business, right?” Bernard said. “When people have a baby, chances are that if it’s a great experience they are coming back.” Culp said that Resolute Baptist is looking forward to expanding to welcome more patients. “We’re so thankful to get to expand and wel- come more moms and babies. ... The di erence for us is we have a lot of one-on-one care that we can pro- vide,” Culp said. “We still keep that really close bond with mom, baby and nurse.”
value,” said Victoria Glynn, a Christus Santa Rosa labor and delivery nurse. An evolving community Christus Santa Rosa has been accredited as a baby-friendly hos- pital due to its initiative to promote breastfeeding and has Lactation Lead Shawna Baker, a full-time nationally certi ed lactation consultant. The sta at Christus Santa Rosa also works to support low-intervention
births and is in the process of add- ing certi ed nurse midwives. Due to an increased trend in women look- ing toward home births during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital sta said they believe it would be bene cial to o er natural births guided by midwives with nurs- ing certi cations in a clinical setting to ensure the safest possible delivery. “We currently have a certi ed nurse midwife with our Christus Trinity
“We’re so thankful to get to expand and welcome more moms and babies. ... The di erence for us is we have a lot of one-on-one care that
we can provide. We still keep that really close bond with mom, baby and nurse.” KELLI CULP, CLINICAL MANAGER OF THE NICU AT RESOLUTE BAPTIST HOSPITAL
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NEW BRAUNFELS EDITION • JUNE 2023
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