(GARDEN CITY, KAN.) When Sara Hahn arrived at the Women’s Clinic at Centura Health - St. Catherine Hospital for her regular checkup in February 2019, she was just shy of 18 weeks pregnant and expecting her appointment with Dr. Kimberly West, OB/GYN, to be a routine one.
But after placing the handheld fetal Doppler against Sara's belly, Dr. West spoke five words that will fill any expectant mother with dread: We can’t get a heartbeat.
Sara didn’t have to wait long for her worst fears to be confirmed. Clinic staff moved quickly to get her in for an ultrasound, which showed she had indeed lost her baby. Then, after consulting with Dr. West, Sara was able to schedule the necessary follow-up surgery for the next day.
When Sara thinks back on that day, though, she is grateful she didn’t have to wait long for the confirming ultrasound and was able to schedule surgery quickly. She called it “the perfect scenario to an imperfect situation.”
“Luckily, all the stars aligned, and I was able to go directly into an ultrasound room and we were able to find out, sadly, that our child had been born right into the arms of Jesus,” she said.
With only one ultrasound machine in the clinic and patient volumes growing and causing a backlog, scenarios like Sara’s are becoming less and less common.
Sara would like more women to have quick access to sonograms, which is why she was excited to learn that this year’s annual St. Catherine Hospital Development Foundation Gala, with a Masquerade Ball theme, is raising money toward the purchase of a second ultrasound machine for the Women’s Clinic.
The Masquerade Ball is set for 6 p.m. March 7 in the St. Catherine cafeteria. Tickets are $100 each and can be purchased at The Nook gift shop at St. Catherine or online. The event will begin with a cocktail hour, followed by dinner and a live auction of artwork created by Dr. Patricia Miller, OB/GYN at the Women’s Clinic. Guests can dance to the music of the seven-piece band Twice on Sunday of Kansas City.
“We’re really passionate about this because I couldn’t have imagined having to wait hours to have an ultrasound when you’re already nervous,” said Sara, herself an X-Ray technician at Centura Health affiliate Rawlings County Hospital in Atwood. “And then having to wait to have another appointment with Dr. West, whereas mine was an immediate flow of door to door to door – a perfect sequence of events.”
Had clinic staff not been able to work her in for a sonogram, Sara might have had to wait a few hours for one at St. Catherine, which likely would have meant a delay in scheduling surgery. That wouldn’t have been ideal for any patient, but especially one like her, who commutes 122 miles to the clinic from her home in Brewster in northwest Kansas.
If her surgery been delayed a day or two, she likely would have driven back to Brewster in an emotional state of mind. With surgery the following day, she was able to stay overnight with her parents in Garden City.
“When you’re in an emotional state, you probably shouldn’t be on the highway as much because there are just a lot of tears happening,” Sara said.
Dr. West estimates that 40 percent of the pre-natal patients at the Women’s Clinic could be involved in a high-risk pregnancy – the type that requires more frequent sonograms. with an increasing number of high-risk patients requiring them weekly, one machine and technician can’t meet the demand.
“The implications of not being able to provide this service in our practice is (to have to send) patients elsewhere,” Dr. West said. “Maybe patients have to come back on a separate day for their ultrasound and a different day for their appointment with me, and you just don’t want to do that when patients have to drive.”
A second ultrasound machine would make the Women’s Clinic an even more viable choice for expectant mothers in southwest Kansas.
“We would like to be able to offer our patients better access to ultrasound testing to reassure patients, and their physician, that their baby is doing just fine,” Dr. West said.
Sara and her husband, Derek, are expecting again, with a baby girl due April 3.
“We’re incredibly excited and blessed, and ready to hold this baby in our arms,” she said.
Sara is having sonograms almost every appointment now and is excited that the clinic will be getting another ultrasound machine.
“We choose to come down here because this is where we feel we can get the best care for ourselves and for our baby, whenever they arrive in this world,” she said.
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Centura Health connects individuals, families and neighborhoods across Colorado, Utah and western Kansas with more than 6,000 physicians and 21,000 of the best hearts and minds in health care. Through our 17 hospitals, two senior living communities, health neighborhoods, physician practices and clinics, home care and hospice services, and Flight For Life® Colorado, we are making the region’s best health care accessible and affordable in every community we serve. We believe you can inspire the people you care about to live healthier lives by encouraging them to do the little things that can make a big difference. We’re Centura Health, and we’re here for your health. For information on Centura Health or any of the facilities in our network, please visit Centura Health website.
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