It’s 7 a.m. on a Thursday and Daisy Perez, patient navigator with the Regional Women’s Services & Pediatrics Pasadena clinic is busy calling women who planned to ride on the bus scheduled to take patients and a guest of their choice to UTMB Health’s John Sealy Hospital for a tour of the Mother-Baby and Labor & Delivery spaces later that morning.
“I’m just double checking their plans and reminding them we will depart at 8:45 a.m. today to head for Galveston,” says Perez, who’s making calls while simultaneously greeting coworkers and patients entering the clinic.
Already one of the busier locations for the RWP program, the Pasadena office has a different energy about it on this day. There’s a palpable excitement in the air that grows as the multi-passenger bus pulls up outside to whisk patients away on their adventure for the morning.
A welcome return
.jpg?sfvrsn=6705ba57_5 "Moms-to-be enjoy themselves during the bus ride to Galveston.")
A re-launch of an older initiative that helped regularly connect patients from the regional clinics
with the UTMB Health facilities available to them for Labor & Delivery services, the day’s activities include a casual and comfortable—yet educational and informative—bus ride to the island, a tour of the relevant units within
John Sealy Hospital and introductions of key hospital team members.
The tour concludes with a boxed lunch and debrief chat on the road back to Pasadena.
“Years ago, we had tours like this for our moms-to-be and they were always a success and well-attended,” said Maria Patawaran, administrative director for the RWP program, which primarily assists individuals who are historically underserved in the health care realm. “I’m thrilled we’re able to start them up again.”
Designed in close partnership with the UTMB Health Labor & Delivery and Mother-Baby teams within John Sealy Hospital and the UTMB Health Strategic Communication & Branding Department, the tours are a truly collaborative effort with folks from across the institution coming together to serve these patients in a way that is not just hospitable but safe.
Safety first
Some intentional, non-negotiable tour details designed to prioritize patient safety and well-being include ensuring a nurse accompanies the patients from start to finish. Passengers are provided masks should they want them, and ample healthy snacks and water are available in goodie bags to guarantee everyone stays nourished, hydrated and healthy.
“Some of the patients riding along are well into their third trimester when things can get extra unpredictable, so we want to be sure we have proper medical coverage, should anything happen,” Patawaran said.
“Really, the measures are for every passenger, regardless of condition or trimester,” she said. “We want this to be a positive, educational experience and to do that the mothers have to feel as safe as possible.”
Not just an administrator, Patawaran also is a provider who sees patients in clinic. Knowledgeable and passionate about the care she and her team deliver to these patients, she opted to be the first nurse riding along during the initial relaunch of the tour initiative.
During the drive to the island, she covers everything from pain control options during labor to how much blood is typically lost during delivery. It’s a candid conversation that the nearly dozen passengers seem to appreciate.
More mundane, but still important topics such as where to park, important signage to look for and more also are covered.
.jpg?sfvrsn=7e05ba57_5 "Nydia Smith, pictured with a tour group in December, has been the designated nurse leading the tours since July.")
At the hospital, guests are greeted by members of the Labor &
Delivery and Mother-Baby teams and the discussion continues, transitioning to topics such as hospital visitor policies, breastfeeding and circumcision.
Language access services is another point that’s covered at length—and it’s something participants in this group were especially interested in, as a few individuals were exclusively Spanish-speaking. Language preferences are taken into consideration when planning the tours, to ensure day-of interpretation services are available.
Deb Mordecai, associate chief nursing officer, works closely with the nurse managers in the units to ensure the needs of the tour participants are met.
This tour with Patawaran and Perez was thankfully uneventful for attendees, but Mordecai and her team are at the ready should participants begin to feel pain or discomfort while touring the floors.
“We have everything they need right here should it be determined a patient needs to be triaged or even admitted while visiting our facilities here,” Mordecai says.
Success
Since that initial tour, approximately another dozen trips have taken place, and with just a few exceptions, every tour attendee who has come to term has made the decision to deliver at John Sealy Hospital. There’s no guarantee that the tours are 100 percent the reason for the patients’ choice in delivery location, but the tour-planning team is taking the rise in delivery numbers in Galveston as its cue to keep the program going.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the teams involved in this important project,” said Dr. Jerome Yaklic, professor and chair of the UTMB Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology. “The needs of this key patient population are being met thanks to everyone working together.”
The program has evolved a bit from that first Thursday a few months back, and it will continue to do so as feedback from post-tour surveys makes its way back to the team.
“As an institution, we’re thrilled that this program is connecting some of the most fragile patients in our system to the highest-level of care available to them,” said Tim Harlin, executive vice president and chief executive officer of the UTMB Health System. “That’s what makes this work truly rewarding.”