Celebrating Faculty and Staff
Dr. William Andrews, Professor and Chair of the UAB Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, says that he has never worked with a more dedicated and hard-working staff, and their contributions are immeasurable.
“While it is undeniable that the Women & Infants Center is an outstanding facility that has brought us many advantages not available before, the true source of the excellence is not the bricks and mortar,” says Andrews. “It is the people who make us who we are and who truly account for our success.”
Elicia Jacob, RN, MSN, Administrative Director for UAB Women & Infants Services, credits much of their success to the front-line staff. She says they are the ones so intimately involved in caring for the patients and who are responsible for implementing the practices. Jacob adds, “I want to mention the nursing, physician and other leadership that serve the Women & Infants' service line, because without them, there is no way that we would see these improvements.”
Dr. Waldemar Carlo, Director of the Division of Neonatology as well as Newborn Nurseries, says the staff has made a tremendous difference in the success of the Women & Infants Center because they feel ownership and responsibility for their patients, making them integral to the provision of excellent care to each patient.
Improvements: By the Numbers
From the Mother Baby Unit to the Gynecologic Oncology service, UAB Women & Infants Services continues to make great strides. Some examples include:
- 71% of patients' babies are receiving breast milk while in the hospital, and65% leave the hospital still receiving breast milk. In the MBU alone, breastfeeding rates have jumped from 24% to 40%.
- The number of Gynecologic Oncology patients discharged each month increased from about 60 in 2010 to more than 100 in 2012. UAB was one of five institutions to be awarded a Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in ovarian cancer by the National Institutes of Health.
- The Continuing Care Nursery (CCN) decreased the length of stay of patients from 21 to 18 days and decreased infection rates.
- 16 UAB OB/GYNs and 6 UAB Pediatric Neonatologists ranked among the Best Doctors in America® in 2012.
- In less than 10 years, UAB’s success rate for In Vitro Fertilization has more than doubled.
Memorable Milestones
- UAB Hospital was once again ranked among the nation’s Best Hospitals for Gynecology by U.S.News & World Report for 2012-2013.
- UAB took top spots in Birmingham Magazine and Alabama Baby & Child's 2012 Parent’s Choice Awards.
- UAB Hospital was selected to participate in Best Fed Beginnings, a national breastfeeding program.
- In April 2012, UAB’s OB/GYN, Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, and several Urogynecology Care Clinics joined Maternal Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Oncology and moved to the Women & Infants Center.
- The new Children’s of Alabama Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children opened in 2012 and is connected via the sky bridges to the Women & Infants Center offering seamless transition between the facilities for newborns receiving advanced inpatient care at both locations.
- In 2011, UAB Hospital was granted recognition as a Magnet hospital for the third time by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
- The UAB Urogynecology Care and Continence Clinics received the first Center of Excellence designation in the care of patients with incontinence and prolapse by the National Association for Continence.
This story was produced and published by UAB Health System Marketing.