Oneida Health announced Aug. 19, 2021, that it would be closing its downtown Maternal Health Center clinic, a Medicaid Assisted Pregnancy Program, and moving those services to its Women’s Health practice located on Oneida Health’s main campus in Oneida.
The timing of the decision was the result of a recent office expansion of Women’s Health in the fall of 2020 as well as recent changes in provider staffing at the clinic.
“Moving our OB Medicaid services to our Women’s Health practice will permit us to continue to provide exceptional obstetrical care and now also provide GYN care, which was not provided in the current clinic setting,” said Oneida Health President and CEO Gene Morreale. “With the relocation, patients will benefit from on-site ultrasound, adjacent laboratory services and will have a regular obstetrician rather than the physician group providers rotating through the clinic, which has been the case.
“Post-delivery, patients will also receive their GYN services and annual visits at Women’s Health. This experience will help ensure a better continuity of care and we believe, a patient experience second to none.”
Previously, patients of the Maternal Health Center would often be required to travel to different offices to receive ancillary services not available in the clinic.
The Maternal Health Center was opened by Oneida Health as a Medicaid and Prenatal Care Assistance Program in 1994. Originally located in the Northside Shopping Center, it moved to its current Broad Street location in 2015. Women’s Health expanded its offices in to two locations on Oneida Health’s campus in the fall of 2020. Oneida Health plans on opening a new, modern Women’s Health building in Oneida in the spring of 2022.
“Patients of our Maternal Health Center have had the fortune of receiving their care from an exceptionally talented and dedicated group of nurse practitioners over the course of 30 years,” Morreale said. “We would like to thank Patricia Jones, NP; Patricia Gorman, NP, and the many staff who have worked the center for their years of service to this clinic and the population it served. They have made a tremendous difference in the lives of many families throughout our communities.”
Oneida Health will provide more than 600 obstetrical deliveries this year at the hospital’s Lullaby Center, which was recently designated a Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) for Maternity Care by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield for providing the highest-quality maternity care. For more information or to become a patient, visit oneidahealth.org or call 315.363.9380.