. . . Hey mom, Holy Redeemer
will still baby you

By Diane Villano
Times Staff Writer

Jeanes Hospital has joined several other Northeast Philadelphia hospitals that in recent years have ended their maternity services. However, just three miles away, in Meadowbrook, Montgomery County, Holy Redeemer Hospital is welcoming them.
Billboards on I-95 tout the facility’s availability for Northeast Philadelphia moms, who last year accounted for a little more than half of the maternity patients at the Huntingdon Pike hospital.
Holy Redeemer’s more than 31,000-square-foot department offers 30 private maternity suites, 10 labor and delivery suites, four triage beds, two dedicated cesarean-section rooms, an antenatal testing center and a neonatal intensive-care unit, along with 17 physicians who deliver babies at the hospital.
According to a survey by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 70 percent of Ob-Gyn doctors have made changes to their practice because of the increasing lack of available or affordable medical liability insurance. The survey also showed that 65 percent made changes to their practice for fear of liability claims or litigation, and 7 to 8 percent have stopped practicing obstetrics altogether.
Holy Redeemer is not immune to those problems, said Marian Thallner, Holy Redeemer’s vice president of women’s and children’s services.
"We are affected by the same forces that have likely caused other hospitals to close," Thallner said. "What’s different is that an integral part of the mission of the Sisters of the Holy Redeemer is to serve the needs of women and children and the community."
To combat liability issues, Holy Redeemer focuses on quality initiatives and education, such as operational procedures, ongoing competency assessments and forms documentation.
High insurance costs aren’t the only challenge hospitals and their obstetrics programs face.
"Every organization has finite resources. Many factors determine priorities, such as mission and community service," Thallner said. "A high-quality maternity unit requires costly equipment, 24/7 physicians, neonatology. If you look at some of the hospitals that may have closed, they had smaller programs. A bigger structure is necessary for a quality program." ••
For information about the hospital’s board-certified obstetricians and maternity center, call 1-800-818-4747 or visit www.holyredeemer.com
Reporter Diane Villano can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dvillano@phillynews.com