HEALTHCARE
Providing Safe Maternity Care
During the COVID‐19 Crisis
With proper precautions and screening, moms and their babies were isolated and protected.
Compiled by Miles Z. Epstein
Editor, COMMERCE
What could be more important than
the health of newborns and their parents?
For New Jersey’s top hospitals,
the safety of babies, moms and dads is always a
priority, and they have adopted post-COVID‐19
protocols to protect them from the virus and
other infections. The following medical centers
and healthcare systems are keeping these new
families healthy through their smartly structured
maternity care programs.
Atlantic Health System,
Morristown Medical Center,
Overlook Medical Center
By Diana N. Contreras, M.D.,
Medical Director, Women’s
Health, Chair of Obstetrics
While the challenges of
COVID‐19 were significant, we learned a great
deal through the experience. By keeping our
physicians, nurses and extended care team
members in Atlantic Health System maternity
centers focused on safety, consistency of care
and compassion, we were able to help parents
welcome their newborns during a time of much
added stress. The good news is that more than
1,000 babies were born during the surge of this
pandemic. Now with the curve of COVID‐19
rates significantly flattened, we have been able
to add back some amenities for moms, as well
as standardize new safety protocols around
testing, isolation and PPE and more. Early on
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we implemented screening protocols at all maternity
unit entrances, which have now been
augmented with a rapid COVID‐19 test for laboring
mothers at admission. Depending on
the physical layout at each center, we can isolate
COVID-positive moms into designated areas or
use negative pressure rooms. Extensive cleaning
is done in between each patient regardless of
their COVID‐19 status. Atlantic Health is also
committed to sharing our learnings and data
from this experience with the global medical
community to help moms everywhere have safe
and comfortable births while we continue to
live with COVID‐19 in our communities.
Englewood Health
By Michael Vardy, M.D.,
Chief of Obstetrics
and Gynecology
At Englewood Health, we’re committed
to providing care in a safe
environment. In the midst of the
COVID‐19 pandemic, we’ve made significant
changes to increase patient safety as we continue
providing state-of-the-art maternity care to new
parents and children. When patients arrive at
the hospital, their temperature is taken and they
are screened for COVID‐19 symptoms and asked
about recent travel before coming to labor and delivery.
They are also given a mask if they do not
already have one. Our team is using full personal
protective equipment (PPE) and taking every precaution
from the moment patients enter labor and
delivery, through birth, and after. Only single-patient
rooms are being used and we are maintaining
visitor restrictions in line with the other units
of the hospital. Most importantly, our medical
staff is partnering with new parents to facilitate
the childbirth experience and the transition into
parenthood, while minimizing stress and anxiety,
during this unprecedented time in healthcare.
Our childbirth education classes and one-on-one
sessions with instructors are now being offered
virtually so new parents can prepare for the experience,
and address questions and concerns, from
the comfort of their own homes. As we safely care
for our most vulnerable patients, we’re working
to ensure this significant time in their lives is as
comfortable and healthy as possible. Now, more
than ever, we remind everyone of the importance
of masking, handwashing, and social distancing—
these practices are proven to work.
The healthcare crisis was and is particularly
stressful for soon-to-be and new parents.
Hackensack Meridian Health,
Hackensack University
Medical Center.
By Manuel Alvarez, M.D.,
Chair, Dept. of Obstetrics
and Gynecology
The safety and well-being of our
patients is very important to us. We adhere to
the highest standards of safety and have implemented
various safety protocols, including
the designating of specific areas for COVID‐19
positive patients while providing space for
COVID-free patients as well as staggered appointment
scheduling so social distancing can
be practiced. Visitation throughout the hospital
remains restricted, although in accordance with
state guidelines, visitors may be present during
childbirth. All of this has allowed us to encourage
women to return to receive the maternal
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