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Prenatal care in the inner-city: a cooperative effort
1Providence Ambulatory Health Care Foundation, Inc., RI 02906.
Insights
The Providence Adult Health Center (PAHCF) and Women and Infants Hospital collaborate to offer accessible prenatal and obstetrical care to underserved urban populations, improving pregnancy outcomes for at-risk mothers.
Area of Science:
- Community Health
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Public Health
Background:
- Low-income, inner-city residents face increased risks for poor pregnancy outcomes due to complex medical, social, and nutritional challenges.
- The Providence Adult Health Center (PAHCF) and Women and Infants Hospital have a long-standing partnership to address these needs.
- PAHCF sites provide accessible, culturally sensitive prenatal care with convenient hours and bilingual staff.
Abstract:
PAHCF and Women and Infants Hospital have been working together for many years to provide high quality, accessible prenatal and obstetrical care to low-income, inner-city residents in the Providence area. Many of these patients have multiple medical, social, and nutritional problems that place them at increased risk for poor pregnancy outcomes. The PAHCF sites offer convenient locations, evening hours, and culturally-sensitive, bilingual staffs; together the five sites provided prenatal care to nearly 1200 patients last year. Women and Infants Ambulatory Care Department provided prenatal care to an additional 1800 women in 1991, including all high risk patients referred for complications or diagnostic evaluations. All patients deliver at Women and Infants, then return to their original source of care for postpartum followup and family planning services. Patient records are readily transferred between the sites, eliminating the need for unnecessary duplication of information or laboratory tests. This close collaboration is mutually beneficial to both the health care providers and the patients whom they serve.