NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi | North Central Bronx announced on Wednesday, Jan. 14, that, under the leadership of new Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology Veronica Ades, MD, MPH, the maternal health programs at these hospitals will be expanded.
Dr. Ades has made sure these hospitals now offer shared appointments for mothers and babies, making it easier for both to maintain postpartum medical care.
This has helped to remove some of the obstacles encountered by Bronx community members, who may struggle to make time to care for themselves and their babies postpartum due to factors like having to take time off from work, finding transportation or being able to afford the cost of child care.
Attendance for postpartum appointments has gone up 24% at Jacobi Hospital since it began offering shared mother-baby appointments, with an estimated 78% of mothers who delivered their babies at the hospital returning six to eight weeks later for these appointments.
Additionally, patients have been encouraged to make an appointment at the hospital one week after childbirth, rather than arranging a telehealth appointment. Approximately 89% of these new mothers have opted for the in-person appointment.
The OB/GYN department at both the Jacobi and North Central Bronx hospitals have worked to increase awareness and training for staff members via lectures on trauma-informed care. The department at these hospitals will also be hiring more reproductive psychologists.
Expanding mental health care specifically integrated into the OB/GYN unit can help ensure pregnant and postpartum women have access to safe psychiatric medications that would not impact a pregnancy. This expansion would also allow for the tailoring of treatment for symptoms from pregnancy that could impact mental health or that could affect their mental health postpartum.
An in-house psychologist has been available in the OB/GYN department at the Jacobi Hospital since 2022, providing expert care to women who are or recently were pregnant.
“We accept everyone who walks in our doors, and we demand excellence of ourselves. Part of that is continuous improvement – always reexamining, optimizing and innovating. It also means understanding where our patients are coming from and tailoring our service delivery to their needs,” Dr. Ades said.
“I think patients want to be respected, informed and have high-quality care in which they feel their needs are met. My expertise is in trauma-informed care, so I am hoping to disseminate that knowledge and bring trauma-informed care to the department, as I believe that many of our patients have significant traumas.”
After obtaining her Doctor of Medicine degree at the State University of New York Downstate in Brooklyn, Dr. Ades performed her residency at Jacobi Hospital from 2004 to 2008.
She has a Master’s degree in Public Health from Harvard University’s School of Public Health. Trained by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Dr. Ades worked with Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders on assignments in Aweil, South Sudan, in 2012 and 2016, as well as in Irbid, Jordan, in 2013. She also founded the EMPOWER Center at Gouverneur Health.
Those in need of obstetric and gynecological care can call NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi | North Central Bronx at (718)-918-5000.
