Intro- Northeast Missouri Health Council takes pride in providing exceptional Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) services to the local community. Their dedicated team of OB/GYN specialists is committed to providing comprehensive care and support to women at every stage of life. From routine gynecological exams and family planning to prenatal care, childbirth, and postpartum care, Northeast Missouri Health Council's OB/GYN practice offers a wide range of services tailored to meet the unique needs of each patient. With a patient-centered approach, they prioritize open communication, empathy, and respect, creating a comfortable and supportive environment for women's health needs. Equipped with advanced technology and staying up to date with the latest medical advancements, Northeast Missouri Health Council's OB/GYN practice strives to deliver the highest standard of care, ensuring the well-being and reproductive health of women in the community.
Northeast Missouri Health Council (NMHC) is currently offering an employment opportunity for a physician in their Obstetrics and Gynecology department. The incoming physician will have the opportunity to work alongside two experienced Ob/Gyns who can serve as valuable mentors. The ideal candidate should have completed or be expecting completion of an Ob/Gyn residency and be board eligible and/or certified, depending on their career stage. NMHC welcomes both recent graduates as well as experienced candidates, and they also accept J1 and H1B visa candidates.
To ease the workload of deliveries, NMHC is open to hiring an OB hospitalist. The referring hospital for NMHC is Northeast Regional Medical Center, a 93-bed acute care facility. The hospital utilizes the McKesson electronic medical records system and is affiliated with ATSU (AT Still University-Health), a teaching hospital known as the birthplace of osteopathic medicine.
Within the OB unit at Northeast Regional Medical Center, there are approximately 500 deliveries per year. The unit consists of four labor, delivery, recovery, and postpartum (LDRP) rooms and ten postpartum rooms. The hospital has a dedicated C-Section operating room within the OB unit. The physicians deliver babies starting at 35 weeks of gestation, and selective vaginal births after cesarean (v-backs) are performed based on the specific factors of each pregnancy. The hospital handles high-risk deliveries such as twins and cases involving hypertension, with a high obesity rate in the population. The C-section rate for first-time mothers is approximately 21%. The nursery is classified as a Level II facility, although there are no designated pediatric units or beds.
The hospital offers block scheduling in the operating room, and they have the DaVinci Robot available. Training for providers and staff on the use of the DaVinci Robot is currently underway. Northeast Regional Medical Center has received accolades and accreditation, including a 4-star CMS Quality Star Rating, ACC National Accredited Chest Pain Center status, Level III STEMI Center designation, Level III Stroke Center status, and Level III Trauma Center designation.
The typical schedule for the employed physician position at Northeast Missouri Health Council (NMHC) is full-time, Monday through Friday. One day per week is blocked off for surgery and administrative tasks. However, if there are no surgeries or administrative work to be done, the physician has the flexibility to use this day as they please.
During the work week, the Ob/Gyns at NMHC handle the delivery of their own patients. However, evening and weekend deliveries are shared among the physicians on-call. The call schedule is 1:3, meaning the physician will be on-call one out of every three weekdays (Monday to Thursday) and one out of every three weekends (Friday to Sunday).
When attending c-sections and deliveries, the pediatricians also share call upon request. They are responsible for rounding on their own patients in the nursery throughout the week. The frequency of overnight hospital visits can vary depending on the call schedule. Typically, physicians can expect to come into the hospital for 3-4 occasions within a two-week time span while on-call.
The scope of practice for physicians at Northeast Missouri Health Council (NMHC) primarily revolves around Obstetrics and Gynecology (Ob/Gyn). Currently, the workload is divided with approximately 80% dedicated to Ob/Gyn and 20% handled by family physicians who handle routine gynecological visits due to the busy schedule of the Ob/Gyns. However, there is a possibility for this to change and incorporate more GYN services with the addition of another physician.
In the realm of pediatrics, the pediatricians at NMHC perform circumcisions and attend all c-sections. The Ob/Gyns may request their presence during difficult deliveries, although the night nursing staff in the OB department is highly experienced and comfortable in handling newborns.
The patient volume at NMHC is around 20-25 patients per day. The facility is equipped with the Da Vinci XI robot for general surgery and OB procedures. The physicians deliver babies starting from 35 weeks gestation and manage high-risk pregnancies, primarily involving twins, gestational diabetes, and obesity. In cases requiring specialized care, such as maternal-fetal medicine (MFM), the closest MFM physician is located at the University of Missouri Women's and Children's Hospital in Columbia, approximately 90 miles away.
The Ob/Gyns at NMHC perform vaginal births after cesarean (V-Backs) for patients who meet the criteria. The group's c-section rate for first-time mothers is approximately 21%. While Northeast Regional Medical Center does not provide termination services, it is not religiously affiliated, allowing physicians to perform tubal ligations there.
The community served by NMHC includes a significant Hispanic and African (Congo) population, making proficiency in French or Spanish languages a valuable asset. Translators are available as needed. Additionally, there are Amish and Mennonite communities in the area that the physicians may interact with.
The Ob/Gyn Specialty Group clinic is conveniently located at 402 W. Jefferson St., Kirksville, MO 63501. While it is situated on the AT Still medical school campus, it operates independently from the medical school. The clinic occasionally hosts medical students who rotate with the providers, providing them with valuable learning opportunities. The Ob/Gyn Specialty Group shares the same building with Northeast Pediatrics and Northeast Dental.
The clinic operates from Monday to Friday, with office hours from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. During these hours, a range of office procedures is performed by the providers, including colposcopy, hysteroscopy, Leeps, ultrasounds, Pap smears, and IUD placements.
To support the healthcare team, each provider is assigned two full-time nurses. Additionally, there are two triage nurses available. The clinic has an onsite phlebotomist to facilitate blood draws and a dedicated clinic manager to oversee operations. The front desk is staffed by three team members to assist with patient reception and administrative tasks. Moreover, the clinic has two translators who are proficient in French and Lingala, enabling effective communication with patients from diverse linguistic backgrounds.
Recognizing the importance of comprehensive care, the clinic offers the services of community health workers who can connect patients with additional resources within the community, ensuring holistic support beyond medical treatment