Maternal clinic to open at Norfolk General Hospital

Photo left to right: Taylor Timpf, Registered Nurse; Kim Mullins, Vice-President Clinical and Chief Nursing Executive (back); Dr. Jamie Szabo, chief of obstetrics; Sherry Chambers, Clinical Director; Samantha Garcia, Registered Respiratory Therapist.

(NGH) Friday, July 15, 2022 – Expectant mothers living in Norfolk County and surrounding communities will soon have better access to labour and delivery services with the opening of a maternal clinic at Norfolk General Hospital (NGH), effective Monday, July 18, 2022.

Initially, the clinic will operate on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and will be staffed by NGH’s team of highly skilled nurses and obstetrical physicians, which includes several local family physicians who specialize in obstetrical care. The clinic will be available to women with or without a primary care provider to ensure all have access to comprehensive prenatal care.

The clinic will provide services such as prenatal visits, RhoGAM injections, newborn wellness checks (weight, jaundice, breastfeeding support), and urgent pregnancy assessments, including non-stress tests to evaluate a baby’s health before birth.

The clinic will be located in the labour and delivery unit on 3B, and there are plans for it to eventually operate five days a week, ultimately integrating it into a 24/7 fully re-opened labour and delivery program.

“By opening this clinic, NGH will return to offering prenatal care to women close to home, something so important to Norfolk General Hospital’s staff and our local community,” said Dr. Jamie Szabo, Chief of Obstetrics. “There are so many members of our community who don’t have access to primary care, to a family doctor or nurse practitioner, or someone to go to when they find out they are pregnant. Norfolk General Hospital and the labour and delivery unit are here for the whole community – it’s open to everyone. We hope that this clinic will also help support our emergency department, increasing local health services, which we know improves health outcomes, always our goal at NGH.”

The opening of the maternal clinic is the first step in the hospital’s phased approach to gradually resuming labour and delivery services in Haldimand-Norfolk.

The goal and expectation is to be fully open to inpatient labour and delivery services by September. If earlier resumption of services is possible, it will be announced.

“This is truly an exciting day for our teams at Norfolk General Hospital and to our patients in the communities we serve,” said Todd Stepanuik, President and Chief Executive Officer at Norfolk General Hospital and the Norfolk Hospital Nursing Home. “I know a lot of hard work and effort has been made over the past year to grow our labour and delivery program, and it’s our goal to bring back our labour and delivery unit, bigger and better than it was before. I want to thank the hospital’s leadership team, as well as our physicians, nurses, and midwives, who continue to work tirelessly to bring obstetrical care back to Norfolk General.”

Patients with or without a primary healthcare provider can book an appointment at the maternal clinic by calling Norfolk General Hospital at 519-426-0130 ext. 3204. The clinic will also accept walk-ins. Please note that the maternal clinic does not offer care for women active in labour at this present time.

“We know how important it is for people in our community to have access to prenatal care, and the opening of the maternal clinic at NGH will make a real difference,” said Kim Mullins, Vice-President Clinical and Chief Nursing Executive. “This clinic will provide access to a team of health professionals to help ensure that expectant moms in Norfolk County and surrounding communities are able to access and receive consistent care throughout their pregnancies.”

In September of 2021, NGH made the difficult decision to temporarily transition obstetrical care to the Brant Community Health Care System (BCHS), due in part to a nursing shortage.

NGH is committed to ensuring expectant mothers have healthy pregnancies and births and will support them every step of the way.

For more information about the maternal clinic, please click here: https://www.ngh.on.ca/maternal-newborn-clinic/

Quick facts

The Maternal Clinic will be open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday’s from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The maternal clinic does not offer care for women active in labour at this present time.
The maternal clinic will offer services such as outpatient obstetrical assessments, RhoGAM administration, Newborn Wellness Checks and routine prenatal care for patients with or without a healthcare provider.
NGH has set a goal to fully re-open labour and delivery services by September.
In September of 2021, NGH made the difficult decision to temporarily transition obstetrical care to the Brant Community Health Care System (BCHS) due in part to a nursing shortage.
The hospital’s Labour and Delivery Unit brings approximately 340 infants into the world annually.
NGH has offered Labour and Delivery services for close to 100-years.