By Michael Morton
“If I did not stumble across here, I would not have known,” said the Kew Gardens resident, who is three-months pregnant with another child and noticed the hospital as she was driving by and decided to check it out. “They take very much interest in the patient.”
Carabello represents one of 1,100 pregnant women passing through the department each year who receive help from the Prenatal Care Assistance Program, a state-funded initiative providing free care to those with family or financial difficulties.
The program offers comprehensive care, bringing together doctors, nurses, nutritionists and social workers and building on the team approach for which the hospital is known, staff said.
“The importance of preconceptual care and prenatal care is absolutely crucial to the health of the mother and her child,” said Dr. Jill Rabin, head of a department that receives more than 35,000 visits a year. “PCAP's made it easier. They've given us more resources to do that.”
Although not a new program - Long Island Jewish was one of the first hospitals to apply when the state created the initiative in the early 1990s - the medical center is still trying to get the word out about the available assistance through public service announcements on the radio.
“There are barriers,” Rabin said, such as language and income. “We are here to try to increase access to care. The indigent frequently don't get optimal care.”
The program offers free pregnancy testing, comprehensive prenatal support, health education and post-delivery checkups. Open Monday to Friday, the department delivers the services with the help of interpreters and phone translators.
Hospital staff members determine who can participate in the program, with those on state Medicaid automatically eligible and those without insurance likely to qualify. Immigration status and family assets are not taken into consideration.
“When you're pregnant, you don't want to think about how am I going to pay for my next visit,” said Mildred Geffrard, a 24-year-old from St. Albans who is six-months pregnant. “You need to think about yourself and the baby. It's a stress reliever.”
Hospital staff emphasize early visits to detect problems, either in the mother or the baby, with women advised to come in every three to four weeks during the early stages of their pregnancies.
“It's always the earlier, the better,” Rabin said.
Patients praised the care provided by the department through the state program.
“Everybody would sit down and talk with me and make sure everything is done,” said Esther Bienaime, 32, of Springfield Gardens, who first came to the medical center to recover from delivering a stillborn baby at another hospital. Now she is five-months pregnant, and said she would recommend Long Island Jewish to other expectant mothers in her community.
“I will explain to them, if you need care, this is the place to go. Usually they don't know.”
Reach reporter Michael Morton by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by calling 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
