Nurses, physicians and leaders at Mercy Medical Center are celebrating a milestone that has been a decade in the making.
During a special ribbon cutting ceremony on Sept. 16, Mercy officials announced the hospital’s Family Birth Center has received accreditation from the California Department of Public Health as an Obstetrical Emergency Department (OB ED).
“Many of you may be wondering what this OB ED designation means for an expectant mother walking through our doors,” explained Lindsey O’Banion, the nursing director of the Birth Center. “It means that from 20 weeks of pregnancy through six weeks of postpartum, mothers will receive a prompt evaluation by our care team when urgent concerns arise. It means immediate evaluation by specialized obstetrical nurses, physicians, and midwives 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It means rapid triage, evidence-based interventions for complications like preeclampsia or hemorrhage, and an environment engineered entirely for maternal safety and comfort. For expectant mothers at 20 weeks or greater, triage has long been provided in our department. Now for the very first time, we are elevating care for our postpartum mothers. They will no longer need to wait in the main emergency department when pregnancy-related concerns arise post delivery.”
Ten years ago, O’Banion recalled, when she was serving as a bedside labor nurse, the Birth Center team recognized a vital need: pregnant and postpartum mothers facing urgent medical concerns deserved a dedicated, rapid-response care pathway built specifically for them. Historically, labor and delivery has served as the hospital’s sole department where patients could receive care without undergoing traditional emergency triage procedures.
Transforming a vision for enhanced care into the reality of an Obstetrical Emergency Department required years of dedication, clinical alignment, and rigorous compliance work to achieve full licensing from the State of California.
“Securing this accreditation underscores our unwavering commitment to providing high-quality, family-centered care,” said Dr. Pierre Scales, chief medical officer at Mercy Medical Center. “Throughout the credentialing process, our top priority remained serving our community and meeting the critical needs of mothers and their newborns.”
The new OB ED distinction is also a reflection of Mercy Medical Center’s investment in advanced training, technology, and resources that include:
• 24/7 on-site obstetrical coverage to quickly address emergencies.
• State-of-the-art labor and delivery suites equipped for immediate intervention.
• Comprehensive care teams that include board-certified OB/GYN physicians, specialists,
nurses, and support staff.
• Continuous quality improvement and patient safety monitoring programs.
“From the moment an expectant mother arrives, our OB ED team is ready to provide rapid, specialized care,” added O’Banion. “We are committed to ensuring our patients have the healthiest and safest birthing experience possible.”
For more information about Mercy Medical Center’s OB ED or to learn about the hospital’s women’s health services, visit online at: Commonspirit.org or call 209-564-5000.