KNAPP MEDICAL CENTER ADDS POTENTIALLY LIFE-SAVING RAPID-RESPONSE CART
Specialized unit can help women
with complications after childbirth
An award-winning Women’s Services team at Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco has become one of the first in the Valley — if not the first — to implement use of a dedicated rapid response post-partum cart, to help improve response time for care for patients who have bleeding after childbirth.
The specialized emergency cart includes a refrigerated drawer for storage of life-saving medications to treat post-partum hemorrhage.
The cart also includes a storage system for specialized instruments and supplies, so they are more readily-accessible – as the cart can be wheeled directly to the patient’s bedside.
Use of the specialized rapid response cart is part of Knapp’s commitment to further enhance the safety of mothers and their newborn babies. Knapp, along with 165 other hospitals in Texas, is currently participating in the “TexasAIM’ program, an effort by the Texas Department of State Health Services to decrease maternal mortality and other severe pregnancy complications.
The state-wide project includes work on improving processes of care based on practices that have been proven to improve outcomes for patients. These “maternity bundles” address such concerns as ways to reduce hemorrhages (loss of blood) after childbirth, as well as ways to reduce complications from high blood pressure during pregnancy.
Knapp also offers free family birthing classes to help educate expectant parents regarding the labor and delivery process, pain management options, newborn care, breast-feeding, nutrition, and exercise. For more information, please contact the Knapp Women’s Center at (956) 973-5350, (956) 973-5351 or (956) 969-5360, or at OEstrada@PrimeHealthCare.com; and visit www.FaceBook.com/KnappMedicalCenter/.
An award-winning women’s services team at Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco has implemented use of a dedicated rapid response post-partum cart, to help improve emergency response for care of patients after childbirth. Showing the specialized cart are obstetricians-gynecologists Dr. Rory Minck, Dr. Juan Gonzalez-Dickson, Dr. Mona H. Mallikarjunaiah, Dr. Annabelle Lopez, and Dr. Ronald Blanco; Olivia Estrada, RN, Director of Women’s Health Services for Knapp Medical Center; and Sandra Rodriguez, CNM, DNP, Certified Nurse Midwife with the office of Dr. Annabelle Lopez. Not pictured is Dr. Gregoris Nunez, Obstetrician-Gynecologist.
