CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- The care of many Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune (NHCL) patients begins in the womb. The hospital delivers approximately 2,000 babies each year which may be a significant number in the area. The growing number of service and family members continue to climb in the coastal geographical region. As those numbers rise, the access to specialty care becomes greater.
Recently Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune partnered with Womack Army Medical Center (AMC) to offer pediatric cardiology services to deliver optimal access to care.
Ultrasound imaging of the fetal heart, also known as fetal echoes, are performed by pediatric cardiologists on mothers who are in their 18-22 week gestation period with conditions of potential risk of heart disease. The ultrasound performed on the fetus' heart consists of two-dimensional and three-dimensional imaging with color flow and pulsed wave Doppler elevation of blood flow. By examining that information, a cardiologist can diagnosis heart disease early during the pregnancy to identify children that have congenital heart disease before birth.
Army Maj. Ryan Flanagan is a pediatric and fetal cardiologist with five years field experience in the specialty and an additional three years in pediatric medicine. He commutes every month from Womack AMC, Ft. Bragg, N.C. to provide these services at NHCL.
"Right before December (2014), my Maternal Fetal Medicine Director, Cmdr. Linda Chan, (NHCL Maternal Fetal Medicine Department head) and I made exchanges over the phone regarding needs here," Flanagan said. "Cmdr. Chan had mentioned needing a specialist to perform fetal echo to allow for better access to care."
Two months ago, this particular prenatal care service was not available. Many mothers in the geographic area were referred to specialists out in town, having to drive 3-4 hours round-trip, in many cases more when congested traffic is equated into the travel. This element can only contribute hardship to a service member's professional and family readiness. Through the support of LtCol. Vinaya Garde, Womack AMC Chief of Pediatrics, and Col. John Lammie, Womack AMC Assistant Deputy Commander of Clinical Services, Chan and Flanagan were able to establish this outreach service at NHCL.
"I was thrilled to find out the service was going to be available here, rather than spending hours on the road driving to Wilmington or Chapel Hill to the specialist and missing days of work," Sgt. Jessica Bailer, intelligence specialist Marine stationed on Camp Lejeune said. "This appointment only took an hour out of my day which was done during lunch and also quickly lifted a huge weight off me because my husband and I have family history of heart defects and diseases."
Not only did the alliance meet the readiness need of the beneficiary, it also showcased the value of military medical providers' services when capability and quality are multiplied. The union of such services also establishes a practice of good stewardship of tax payer dollars.
"If I have capable services here on base, I'd rather come to Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune," Bailer said. "Traffic can get pretty hectic."
Having an appointment for fetal echo services just became more convenient and screening is essential to the health of the baby. Statistics indicate 1 out of 100 babies born may have minor to severe heart concerns. According to fetal cardiology experts, pregnancies may be at risk for congenital heart disease for a variety of fetal, maternal, or familial reasons.
"Our alliance resulted due to the need here. In a number of pregnancies, there can be up to a 5-10 percent chance of fetal congenital heart disease," Flanagan said. "Early screening can help optimize outcomes for those women who have conditions of being diabetic, history of heart disease or if the pregnancy was conceived through IVF and therefore have greater risk factors."
Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune aspires to be the birthing place of choice as it is continuing to expand its Maternal Fetal Medicine services.
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