Mercy Offers Family-friendly Women’s Health Services

Mercy Offers Family-friendly Women’s Health Services

By Elizabeth M. Barlet, MD, FACOG

Mercy Clinic Women’s Health

 

 

At Mercy, we pride ourselves on a

family-friendly environment and

continuity of care. When it comes to

women’s health, you want the best care

available for you and your family. From

our birthing suites, to our neonatal

intensive care unit (NICU) and Ronald

McDonald family room, Mercy cares for

patients and families through some of the

most special, and difficult, times of life.

Labor and Delivery

Almost all women’s health services are located on the fifth

floor of Mercy Hospital Joplin. Mercy Clinic Women’s Health

is on the clinic side of the fifth floor. On the same floor is also

our birthing center and NICU. Because doctors are on the

same floor, they can be with patients within a few minutes.

All birthing suites are private, family friendly and motherbaby

focused, meaning the baby stays in the room with

mom from birth to departure. Mothers labor, deliver and

stay in the same room for post-partum recovery. In case of a

caesarian section, the women’s health floor has an operating

room. New moms still recover feet away and on the same

floor as the NICU if the baby needs more intensive care. The

birthing center also provides access to in-house lactation

consultants who visit each mom who is breastfeeding. We

want our families to participate in their infant’s care and feel

comfortable and informed during their stay.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

All NICU rooms are private and designed so families can stay

24/7. Pull-out beds in each room allow parents to be involved

in the care of their baby. Mercy’s NICU also has a “homeward

bound” room within the unit, an important part of helping

parents transition to home care. Parents have the option to

stay the night in the homeward bound room before a baby is

discharged. In this home-like environment, they can practice

caring for their baby with staff readily available to help.

Ronald McDonald Family Room

On the sixth floor of the hospital, one floor above labor and

delivery and the NICU, is the Ronald McDonald Family

Room. This room is provided for our patients and their

families in partnership with Ronald McDonald House

Charities of the Four States. Families can come to the room

to take a break, shower, do laundry or find a snack, rather than

leaving the hospital campus. Our NICU families often enjoy

this space during their time at the hospital.

Chapel

Mercy is a faith-based ministry, and carrying on the healing

ministry of Jesus Christ is an important part of what we do.

The chapel serves as a sanctuary for our patients and their

families.

We love serving our community and know that what we do in

women’s health makes a difference.

Elizabeth Barlet is a physician with Mercy Clinic Women’s Health

in Joplin and Carthage. Other available women’s health providers

include Jeffrey Manley, MD, FACOG, Health Merkley, MD, FACOG,

Holly Richardson, APRN-WHNP, and Jill Feurt, NP, CNM. To make

an appointment with one of these providers, call 417.633.7426.