As of Monday, Lewiston-Clarkston Valley nurse-midwives Andrea Hedrick and Nicole Jones are again able to deliver babies at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center.
The midwives’ hospital privileges were put on a temporary pause following the loss of 24/7 physician coverage, which the hospital requires for midwife deliveries.
That’s now changed, Hedrick said, with two physicians able to provide the coverage.
“ (We are) very excited to be delivering again,” Hedrick said. “For us to not be able to be there has been really difficult.”
The doctors providing that coverage will be TriState’s Dr. Lindsay Kern and incoming TriState Health physician Dr. Caroline Rolofson, who is expected to begin in early August, said Rebecca Mann, chief marketing and communications officer for TriState.
As soon as Rolofson has privileges at St. Joseph, she will join Kern in providing 24/7 coverage for the midwives.
“Dr. Kern and Dr. Rolofson, along with our midwives, have worked diligently throughout this period to ensure the on-call coverage requirements were met as quickly as possible,” Mann wrote. “We are appreciative to them for their dedication to their patients and our community.”
Mann said TriState is also working to expand its collaborative physician coverage beyond Dr. Kern and Dr. Rolofson.
“We are exploring options and are thankful to those other healthcare entities and physicians who have reached out. We will share more information as plans are confirmed,” Mann wrote.
Hedrick and Jones had both met with patients to inform them of the change.
“ They're extremely excited,” Hedrick said, “and relieved just because of our relationship that we have.”
The two nurse-midwives said they were unsure exactly how many of their patients ended up having to change their delivery plan. Mann wrote that “many” patients were affected.
“During this process, our main goal was to ensure every one of our patients was provided clear information about their options for delivery and given full support,” she wrote.
In a statement, St. Joseph spokesperson Desiree Silva said the hospital does not comment on matters involving members of the medical staff, including credentialing and privileging activities.
“Our commitment is, and always will be, providing safe, compassionate, high-quality care for mothers, babies, and families,” Silva wrote in an email. “We are proud to support growing families in our community and remain focused on ensuring every patient receives the care and support they need throughout their pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum journey.”
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