Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gained attention in April 2018 for driving initiatives to combat the horrific maternal mortality rate among black women in his state. A key element of this task force was for Medicaid to cover the use of doulas, or trained birth coaches. What is a doula? Doulas are professional birth…
Our intake nurse, Lesley Atton is back to rocking her classic ‘do! After almost four long years of growing her hair out, Lesley cut off 16 inches (almost ½ a pound!) of hair to donate to for Wigs 4 Kids. Not only does she look great, but her long-standing determination and compassion will provide a…
Michigan Vaccine Eligibility Expansion Helps Caregivers of Children with Disabilities On March 3, Michigan leaders updated the Michigan COVID-19 Vaccination Interim Prioritization Guidance document to allow for two additional groups to sign up for vaccines after March 8, 2021. These include: Citizens over 50 with medical conditions and/or disabilities. Caregivers age 16 and older of…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has devoted countless resources to ongoing research regarding the effects of the novel Coronavirus on pregnancy, and vice versa. Even in light of these efforts, much remains unknown about pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic (1). One area experts have recently weighed in on is the increased interest in home…
Recent research suggests that nurses may be more likely to make medication errors around the time they receive phone calls. Christopher P. Bonafide and colleagues recently published a study (1) in JAMA Pediatrics, focused on mobile telephone interruptions in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). This study included 257 nurses and 3308 patients, and considered…
Medical professionals who care for newborns must know a great deal about managing neonatal breathing complications. They should be skilled at providing resuscitation, intubation, and other forms of respiratory assistance to infants that require it. Mismanagement of neonatal breathing complications can result in a variety of serious birth injuries, such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia, pneumothorax, hypocarbia,…
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DDs) often have a difficult time getting to doctor’s appointments, and may miss out on important medical services as a result. A recently-introduced program in the state of New York aims to change that. Premier HealthCare has begun to offer psychiatric telehealth appointments to those with I/DDs. The program…
One of the major risk factors for birth injuries, such as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), is lack of access to high quality healthcare. This means that births may be more dangerous if the mother does not live near a hospital with trained and qualified staff, or if she is uninsured/unable to afford care. Additionally, some states…
Maternal-fetal medicine specialist, Shivani Patel, wrote an op-ed piece for STAT in May that detailed her experience with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during pregnancy (1). Eight years ago, Patel learned she had preeclampsia during her pregnancy. Preeclampsia is not an uncommon pregnancy condition, affecting roughly 5-8% of pregnant women (2). It involves high blood pressure,…
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recently published a committee opinion discussing necessary precautions for patients who may have eating disorders. Eating disorders encompass a wide range of conditions in which a person has abnormal feeding habits; often, eating disorders affect physical health in addition to mental and emotional well-being. Some of the…
