Many Ob Hospitalist Group (OBHG) hospital partner sites aligned with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) have cooperative partnerships in place, with FQHC clinicians providing prenatal, postpartum and well-women care, and OBHG clinicians providing inpatient care, handling deliveries and obstetrical emergencies. This arrangement enables FQHC clinicians to care for more women who need services in the clinic, and for patients to receive top-notch care from OB hospitalists in the hospital.
A FQHC provides comprehensive health care services to underserved communities. FQHC’s collaborate with local hospitals to promote equitable access to healthcare and help build healthier communities.
OBHG Site Director Dr. Jennifer Risinger talks about the hospital relationship with FQHC’s, how this partnership strengthens women’s healthcare offerings for the entire community and how OB hospitalists strengthen the hospital/FQHC relationship.
“From where I stand as the OB hospitalist, to me it’s a win-win-win. The doc wins, the patients win, and most importantly, the community wins.” – Dr. Jennifer Risinger
“We have seen a growth in the population that have needed the services of our FQHC in the past year, and it’s nice to know that instead of ladies going without prenatal care, they’re able to get into the system, get the prenatal care they deserve and have a healthier pregnancy and a healthy baby.”
“I think one of the great things about our relationship with our local FQHC is how it has been able to achieve a win-win-win situation for everyone involved. For instance, for the private OB providers, it really does allow them to be in the office taking care of patients seeing the increased volume that is in our area. And we eliminate the burden for the hospital practice. So we’re able to deliver the patients and see them while they’re in the hospital. And then our private providers provide that holistic prenatal care, and then they pick them back up and take care of them in the in the postnatal period. So that way, it’s a seamless handoff, from the outpatient to the inpatient world back to the outpatient world.”
“For the patients themselves, they just get some top-notch care from us as the OB hospitalist. And during their deliveries, we’re able to maintain a low C-section rate for those for those ladies and great outcomes for moms and babies.”