Bertha Solis' baby boy, Leonardo Veliz Jr., was the first baby born at our newly renovated birthing center.
Scheduled for completion in the next several months, The Birthing Center’s renovation will mean additional services for women and babies in the Rio Grande Valley. McAllen Medical Center’s Chief Operating Officer Jerome Brooks says so far, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is completed, as well as the 21 private mother/baby postpartum rooms. “Our patient base is growing and we have more physicians here. Our NICU has 26 bassinets and we have expanded our neonatologist coverage to 24/7,” says Brooks. “Now there will be a doctor onsite for any complicated deliveries and care needed for newborns.”
He also adds that a free pregnancy outreach program through the STHS Women’s Center in San Juan, Texas, is available. “At this outpatient clinic, women have access to free pregnancy exams. If they learn they are pregnant, they can be referred for care, financial counseling and insurance coverage,” Brooks says. “They can even fill out online forms there if they don’t have Internet at home. We have various resources for women of all ages and stages of life.”
As More Women Choose The Women's Corner, an Expansion is Underway to Meet Demand in Edinburg
The hospital administration and medical teams at The Birthing Center welcome you to the newly renovated facility.
In the wake of recognition for excellence in quality by Healthgrades™ at both Edinburg and McAllen, the addition of new OB/GYNs to the Edinburg campus, the reputation of great patient experiences and strong market growth, The Women’s Corner is expanding by adding four more labor/delivery/recovery suites for a total of 10 suites. The unit also has a nursery and 13 postpartum rooms.
Chief Operating Officer Lance Ames says deliveries have increased from 393 in 2014 to 800 in 2017, up 103 percent during the past three years. “We are fortunate to have a strong team of physicians who helped pave the way for us to have the high quality outcomes that we have,” he says. “We are honored to have been recognized by Healthgrades for the past few years.”
Ames says he frequently receives feedback from patients who speak very highly of their birthing experience at The Women’s Corner. “We are dedicated to the health and well-being of mothers and babies, and a great patient experience is all part of that,” he says.
Also contributing to the high quality ratings is the robotic surgery program at Edinburg Regional Medical Center. “Minimally invasive women’s surgery is becoming the standard of care. We’ve added advanced technology and training for the physicians to continue to be on the cutting edge of patient care,” says Ames.
The Women’s Corner offers many benefits for mothers and babies. Childbirth classes are offered in English and Spanish. The medical staff includes physicians, trained labor and delivery nurses, midwives, as well as full-time International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC). In addition, both Edinburg Regional Medical Center and McAllen Medical Center have received designation from the Texas Department of State Health Services as “Texas Ten Step” programs, which encourages breastfeeding as the preferred method of feeding for newborns and infants. “Our hospitals support breastfeeding mothers and help with resources once mothers are discharged. In addition, we are Texas Mother-Friendly Worksites. This means we are registered to provide employees or visitors to our hospitals with a comfortable breastfeeding/pumping room at any time,” Ames says.
Meet Giannina Guardia-Rullan, MD, OB/GYN
Giannina Guardia-Rullan, MD, is part of the obstetrics and gynecological team at Valley Care Clinics. She earned her Doctorate in Medicine from the Ponce School of Medicine, then completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Puerto Rico – Medical Sciences Campus. She will start performing robotic gynecology procedures in 2018 with the da Vinci® robot.
Dr. Guardia-Rullan holds memberships with the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists (AAGL); Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons (SLS); American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG); American Medical Association (AMA); and American College of Physicians (ACP). She speaks English, Spanish and French.