A UNC partnership with FirstHealth of the Carolinas will give women in the mid-Carolinas convenient local access to a wider variety of specialty services related to high-risk pregnancy.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 | ThePilot.com
A specialist with FirstHealth UNC Maternal-Fetal Medicine will begin seeing patients at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in April. The service will be offered two days a week until this summer when a full-time specialist will join the program and begin seeing patients five days a week.
“We are very excited to offer Maternal-Fetal Medicine to our community,” said Dr. Dan Barnes, president of the FirstHealth Physician Group. “This service will allow women with high-risk pregnancies to remain in the community and deliver their babies close to home.”
The Maternal-Fetal Medicine program at Moore Regional will provide preconception and prenatal consultations for maternal medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and autoimmune disorders and for high-risk pregnancy issues such as twins and triplets, preterm labor and previous fetal death.
Available services will include amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling, tests that are done early in a pregnancy to detect problems with the unborn baby; state-of-the art obstetric ultrasound; and other fetal procedures.
When the office opens in April, services will be provided on Tuesdays and Fridays by Dr. David Stamilio. A genetic counselor will accompany him to Pinehurst on Fridays.
A graduate of the medical school at Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, Stamilio completed his OB/GYN residency at Christiana Health Care System in Delaware and his fellowship training in reproductive endocrinology and maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital.
Before joining the UNC program, he held appointments at Darnall Army Hospital in San Antonio, Texas; the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia; and Washington University in St. Louis.
Dr. Kate Menard, division director of Maternal Fetal Medicine at UNC, said Stamilio and other specialists will partner with physicians at Moore Regional to help achieve the best health outcomes for mothers, premature newborns or newborns affected by other high-risk conditions.
“UNC Maternal-Fetal Medicine is proud to have this opportunity to partner with FirstHealth to bring subspecialty services to the mothers, infants and families at Moore Regional Hospital,” Menard said. “The best pregnancy outcomes for women with medical and obstetric complications can be achieved through collaboration with a multidisciplinary team. Together, we will improve care for patients and families at Moore Regional.”
The Maternal Fetal Medicine program will open in the Women & Children’s Services area of FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital on April 15. Patients will be seen from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays. Appointments are by physician referral only.