The redesigned Women's Outpatient Center at Missouri Baptist offers a warm, welcoming environment with seven dedicated patient bays, a central nurses station and two operating rooms.
The new center also has a dedicated waiting room and additional space for patients who may require increased privacy because of the nature of their procedures. In addition, the added benefit of being in a hospital provides the safety and added comfort for patients if there are any concerns during a procedure that require more involved care.
Although in a new location, the center continues to offer the same quality, compassionate care patients have come to expect from the center's team of dedicated nurses, anesthesiology staff and physicians.
Staff nurses, Heather Moyerman, Connie Clark, and Mark Smith, have maintained their roles in the new state-of-the-art location and bring with them years of experience.
"We have been caring for patients ranging in age from 13 into their 80s," Moyerman said. "We do minor, non-invasive gynecological procedures, such as hysteroscopy, sterilization, hymenectomy, uterine ablation and LEEP (a treatment for abnormal cells on the cervix). Most of these cases do not require a large hospital operating room. The Women's Outpatient Center provides a smaller, intimate and efficient location with the safety of a hospital setting."
Personalized Care
"The key to the Women's Outpatient Center is the constant, dedicated staff of RNs who make this place special," said Dr. David L. Weinstein, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Missouri Baptist. "The nurses are involved in the patients' care from beginning to end. They call patients before their procedure, are there during the procedure and follow up the next day.
"The thing that makes it special is the personalized care our patients receive. We do everything we can for the patient to have the best experience possible."
Dedicated Staff
Thanks to Moyerman, Clark, and Smith the Center has made a significant impact on patients.
"We try to provide a continuity of care you might not find in a larger operating room due to the types of procedures and larger staff," Moyerman said. "We're taking care of our patients from start to finish. We call them to review their health history before they arrive, we keep them informed, care for them before, during and after their procedure and call them the next day."
It was this personalized care that made such an impact on Dana Rizzo of Washington, Missouri, when she was recently in the center. As a long-time patient of Dr. Weinstein, she had spent years dealing with extremely heavy periods that inconvenienced her work as a horticulturist.
"Dr. Weinstein does not, and will not, do anything that is not necessary, which I really appreciate about him. But I finally said, 'I'm ready.'" Rizzo was treated with an endometrial ablation procedure to address the abnormal bleeding. "The procedure was very successful," she added, "and my experience was wonderful.
"They make sure you know what to expect before you arrive. It's a very personal experience in a space dedicated to women which is wonderful. The nurses make you feel welcome and they have a good rapport with the patients and the doctors."
Compassionate Care in Difficult Times
Sharon Gutowski has received care in the Women's Outpatient Center twice following two miscarriages she experienced a year apart.
Although her first miscarriage occurred on a Friday, Dr. Weinstein and the staff were able to ensure she could have her procedure that day and not have to wait through the weekend.
"While I was waiting for my husband to arrive, I was crying on and off, and the nurses comforted me and were able to provide really wonderful care. As difficult as it was, I appreciated being able to have some form of closure that day," she said. "When I was there a year later, they were the same very compassionate nurses taking care of me again. They followed up the next day with a very sincere phone call to see how I was doing both physically and emotionally."
Like Gutowski, Leslie Burroughs is a long-time patient of Dr. Weinstein and has been a patient in the Women's Outpatient Center following a miscarriage. As the mom of a 3-year-old boy, Burroughs said the center's staff showed her and her husband great compassion during a difficult time.
"It was a great experience because they called me a couple days prior to my appointment to prepare me for what to expect, collected all of my information and made sure I did not have to worry about paperwork or anything once I was there," Gutowski said. "My husband and I were the only ones in the center the day I was there, and I received really great care from all of the nurses who were very empathetic."