Lewis County Health thinking out of the box — and going out of town — to unpause maternity services

Her three positive experiences at her hometown hospital where she has also been an employee for the past 10 years as an occupational therapist left her with “very high expectations.”

Although she will not have any more children and her experience at the other hospital was also positive when she gave birth to her daughter in July, Mrs. Lee is adamant that the local maternity department is still needed for many reasons.

“I’m very passionate about it because I went through that grieving mode (of not being able to have her daughter there) and it took a long time to accept it,” she said, adding, “the need (for the department locally) will never die. This generation may be done having babies but the next generation is coming up behind it.”

Health System CEO Gerald R. Cayer agrees, stating that the board and administration seek to serve the entire population of the county and consider maternity “a critical service.”

The state Department of Health allowed the maternity department to pause services rather than shutting down after six maternity nurses and a doctor resigned when the state made the coronavirus vaccine mandatory for all hospital personnel in September 2021.

To “unpause” the department, Mr. Cayer said at least one obstetrician/gynecologist, or OB-GYN, but ideally two, and at least four maternity nurses beyond those who have already committed to sign on once the doctors needed are in place.

With the competitive salary and benefit packages the Health System is offering, Mr. Cayer said there have been some promising candidates but in each case, circumstances or demands changed for the practitioners, causing the search to continue.

“You cast the net as wide as you can and then the process of discussion, research, interviews and ongoing conversation helps influence if it’s a good fit for both parties,” he said, noting that “across the country, OB-GYN recruiting is challenged” and is the most difficult recruiting they have had to do.

So now, the Health System is getting more creative and more focused on certain markets by placing two full-color digital billboards — one in Queens and one in Buffalo — that will “go live” in the next few days.

“We have been trying to figure out how we can set ourselves apart and highlight what’s good in a targeted message,” Mr. Cayer said. “Lewis County — the north country — is a beautiful place and we illustrate that beauty on the digital billboard. We identify that Lewis County is a county in New York State — there are 62 counties so, let’s let people know — and just some simple words. Great communities. Safe schools. Fresh air.”

The message is that the county is where people “can achieve life-work balance with things that are important to your partner, your spouse, your family,” he added.

People who spend hours in commuter traffic at a time when there appears to be population movements nationwide from urban to more rural areas in the post-pandemic world, from a recruiting point of view, just made sense, Mr. Cayer said. The two selected locations are near large hospitals and in tri-state areas which the health system team hopes will extend the billboard’s impact.

According to Mr. Cayer, the Health System is ideally looking for doctors already licensed in the state to cut down the potential six months it can take to ensure credentials and insurance are in place, but they are open to practitioners from around the country.

Finding the right candidate also means the practitioners are looking for those with interpersonal connections and who can adapt to a place with four seasons and very cold winters.

For Dr. Kathryn McHugh, a family medicine doctor at Lowville Medical Associates who is also certified to deliver babies and perform C-sections, has continued to serve her patients out of Carthage Area Hospital and is eager to be able to do her work locally again.

Being able to deliver at the county hospital will cut down on travel time for her and her patients and allow her to be more responsive to unforeseen changes that have left laboring mothers without time to make the trip to Carthage from locations around the county, leading to emergency room deliveries.

She said she has seen the added stress the extra distance has had on her patients and many have told her they hope the maternity department returns.

“With delivering babies here, people are just so grateful and you are part of this big moment for them,” she said. “I think what might be one of the most fun parts is that you constantly get to see the fruits of our labor. You see these kids grow and develop and be part of the community and you know that you made that possible and in some cases you saved that child’s life or you saved that mom’s life … That’s a really special thing you may not get to see if you are working in a more urban place.”

The Health System has created a new recruiting page for maternity on its website, www.lcgh.net.