NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A large obstetrician-gynecologist practice in Norfolk will no longer deliver babies at Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center.
Come March 1, WomanCare Centers PLC will be taking its patients to Sentara Leigh Hospital on Kempsville Road in Norfolk.
WomanCare sits right next door to DePaul Medical Center. Over the past 30 years, their doctors and midwives have delivered thousands of babies at DePaul.
Over the past few days, patients have received an email letting them know that WomanCare Centers will be moving its services to Sentara Leigh Hopsital.
“We made this decision to help us accommodate our desire to grow our practice and services,” doctor Elizabeth Golpira told WAVY.com. She added the center has patients not only from Norfolk but also Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, the Virginia Peninsula and Suffolk.
“Sentara Leigh Hospital is centrally-located to better serve our patients from all corners of Hampton Roads,” she added.
Patients who are currently pregnant will still deliver at DePaul before March 1, 2020.
On and after March 1, the patients will deliver their babies at Sentara Leigh. One possible concern for patients: Sentara Leigh does not have a midwifery program, something WomanCare Centers is known for in local mommy circles.
“We are working to incorporate WomanCare Centers’ midwifery program here at Sentara Leigh,” Sentara representative Kelly Kennedy said. “We expect this will bring in a number of new patients, and with that, additional demands for staffing and resources. We are working on a plan to accommodate these needs.”
But what does this mean for Bon Secours?
“Please understand that Bon Secours Center for Birth at DePaul is not closing, we employ several OBGYN physicians who also deliver at this hospital,” Bon Secours Mercy Health Public Relations Director Emma Swann told WAVY.com.
The hospital system, which merged with Mercy Health last year, closed a different birthing center at Maryview Medical Center in Portsmouth, six months ago.
Swann also said DePaul is working with both Sentara and WomanCare OB-GYN during the transition in the best interest of patient care.
