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Americus OBs cope with having no birthing unit

• For Americus obstetricians, being on-call means living in Albany.

Susan McCord

AMERICUS — Already a rarity, the rural obstetrical practice led by Schley Gatewood Jr. was turned upside down when a March 1 tornado wiped out Sumter Regional Hospital’s birthing unit.

“The crux is that we have gone back to being like interns again,” said Gatewood, whose father founded the Americus OB-GYN office that averaged 800 childbirths a year.

The numbers remain high, but since the tornado, no planned delivery has taken place in Sumter County.

So, while patients continue to visit the Americus practice for check-ups, when delivery time comes, most happen have at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital.

Earlier this month, the Albany hospital attributed an upswing of 750 births last year to the Americus tornado.

For Americus OB-GYNs, the change has meant relocating to Phoebe — living, like the days, post-med school, at the hospital 2-3 days a week, he said.

The system has worked, though the distance has taken a toll on families, who have to drive to Albany when the time comes.

“We’ve probably lost two babies, because people could not get there in time,” Gatewood said.

And unfortunately, since the Americus hospital drew from counties further north — Schley, Macon, Taylor, Stewart and Webster, some families who lived closer to Macon or Columbus opted for care in those cities, he said.

But the system has largely been a success, albeit the occasional delivery at Sumter Regional East’s “urgent care” center, hospital CEO David Seagraves said.

Today, Sumter Regional will accept a $20,000 donation from the Georgia Obstetrical and Gynecological Society to help Americus rebuild the women’s healthcare unit at the hospital.

Pat Cota, Executive Director and OB-GYN Anne Patterson Barnett from the organization will present the award at an 11 a.m. ceremony at the Wheatley House, behind the damaged hospital.

The donation will provide a much-needed supplement for insurance, FEMA and GEMA funds that don’t entirely meet the hospital’s needs to rebuild, Seagraves said.

The hospital is working feverishly to open an interim hospital, to provide most services until a new hospital is completed, he said.

Administration and staff hope to see the interim hospital open in late February, he said.

When it does, Americus doctors will resume delivering babies close to home, he said.

The experience of making deliveries in Albany, though time-consuming, has been meaningful to the four obstetricians and several certified nurse-midwives who work closely with the Americus practice’s patients, Gatewood said.

“They’ve been so good to us; they have treated us royally and it has moved us,” Gatewood said. “We’ll miss Phoebe, but we sure will be glad to be home.”

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