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In May of 2003, BWH and Partners member Newton-Wellesley Hospital (NWH) entered a new collaborative venture to provide expectant parents, who reside in Boston’s Western suburbs, with the advantages of an urban tertiary care medical center within a convenient community setting. The partnership resulted in the creation of “Brigham and Women’s/Newton-Wellesley Obstetrics.”
Just recently, NWH signed an agreement with Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates (HVMA) to enlist six obstetric and gynecology specialists to deliver at NWH—marking the latest development in the evolution of “Brigham and Women’s/Newton-Wellesley Obstetrics.” “We are pleased that HVMA patients, who live within our service area, will now be able to deliver the newest members of their families close to home thanks to Brigham and Women’s/Newton-Wellesley Obstetrics,” said Thomas Beatty, MD, chair of Obstetrics/Gynecology at NWH
In line with an $8 million renovation project currently underway in NWH’s maternity facilities, the HVMA agreement is part of the plan to reinvigorate maternity services at NWH. As a result of this agreement, 1,000 additional births are expected at NWH, bringing the hospital’s birthing totals to 4,000 babies delivered annually.
HVMA has a long-term relationship with BWH. HVMA has 13 centers throughout the area with up to five primary care physicians at each site, and its Obstetrics/Gynecology service delivers about 3,000 babies per year.
With the new agreement between NWH and HVMA, new prenatal patients at the Wellesley HVMA site will have the option of delivering their babies at NWH, and the Obstetrics/Gynecology service at Dedham Medical Associates will start taking patients immediately. In addition to six new ob/gyns, NWH will welcome six nurse midwives from HVMA.
Gynecologic surgery performed by HVMA physicians began at the end of February, and HVMA obstetricians will begin to deliver babies at NWH in September.
“We are delighted to conveniently provide both ob/gyn services and primary care services for our existing Wellesley HVMA patients at one location. We also look forward to growing our practice with new OB patients at Dedham Medical Associates,” said Lori Ann Wroble, MD, an active member of the BWH obstetrics staff and chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology for HVMA at NWH.
The cornerstone of BWH’s women’s health program has long been its renowned obstetrical care, with the hospital welcoming approximately 9,000 babies into the world each year. As this demand continued to climb, BWH entered the collaborative venture with NWH in 2003 as a means to better match demand and patient needs.
“The collaborative spirit of Brigham and Women’s/ Newton-Wellesley Obstetrics continues to provide BWH the opportunity to more conveniently provide our renowned maternal/fetal care to women in Boston’s Western suburbs,” said Robert Barbieri, MD, chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at BWH.
Such spirit has also given life to several new program enhancements within the Obstetrics service line at NWH. These include a newly expanded Maternal Fetal Medicine, led by Program Director Julian Robinson, MD, and staffed by Lisa Dunn-Albanese, MD; introduction of a uro-gynecology specialist Neeraj Kohli, MD; BWH’s Rachel Ashby, MD, has joined the staff of the Partner’s Reproductive Medicine Center at NWH; and BWH’s and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Ross Berkowitz, MD, is now leading an enhanced Gynecologic Oncology program at NWH.