Sacred Heart Women's Hospital in Pensacola recently extended its expertise in managing high-risk pregnancies into southwest Alabama by opening a satellite office in Fairhope. The new office is located at 150 South Ingleside Dr., Suite 6.

A Sacred Heart Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist and staff from Sacred Heart's Regional Perinatal Center have started patients at the satellite office, and plans call for the physician and staff to visit twice a month. Patients must be referred by their obstetrician.
 This new office will allow pregnant women in and around the Fairhope area to receive expert care from Sacred Heart's Regional Perinatal Center staff without having to travel to Pensacola. Sacred Heart is one of 11 hospitals in Florida designated by the state as a Regional Perinatal Intensive Care Center (RPICC).

 "We wanted to expand the regional availability of our services and improve birth outcomes in southwest Alabama, while allowing high-risk women to get expert prenatal care closer to home," said Dr. James Thorp, a specialist in Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Medical Director of the Regional Perinatal Center.
 The community will reap great benefits from this clinic, too, according to Elizabeth Allerellie, Perinatal Outreach Coordinator at Sacred Heart. "The number of sick and low-birth-weight babies who would then require neonatal intensive care services will decrease," said Allerellie. "The community will see an increase in the number of high-risk pregnant women receiving prenatal care and this will support other hospitals in southwest Alabama where these patients eventually will deliver their babies." 

Studies have found that outcomes for high-risk pregnancies can be improved through continuous specialized care to pregnant women with major medical or maternal conditions that puts their pregnancy at risk or their newborn at risk for disease, death or disability. Since 1974, the state's RPICC program has improved outcomes for women with high-risk pregnancies and improved care to sick or pre-term newborns by providing a full range of specialized services and ongoing care.

At Sacred Heart, RPICC services include specialized prenatal care in a high-risk pregnancy clinic and at Sacred Heart Women's Hospital, where obstetricians and nurses with specialized training in maternal-fetal medicine manage the pregnancies and deliveries of high-risk mothers. The second component of the program - neonatal care for very sick or premature newborns - is provided by Sacred Heart's Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery.

For more information on Sacred Heart's Regional Perinatal Center, please visit www.sacred-heart.org or call (850) 416-2477 or toll-free at 1-866-904-8738.