BEAUMONT, Texas — A new program in Port Arthur will make maternity care for some Southeast Texas women much easier to get to.
Baptist Hospital and the Port Arthur Health Department are teaming up to bridge the gap when it comes to prenatal care.
Expectant Southeast Texas mothers can now receive the care they need in Port Arthur with help from the health department and Baptist Hospital.
"This is really quite necessary for our area, for Port Arthur and the surrounding cities," said Judith Smith, who is Port Arthur’s Director of Health Services.
Previously some pregnant women in Southeast Texas had to travel as far away as Galveston for prenatal care.
"Several of the moms do not get the prenatal care that's needed within the first trimester because of the lack of providers in the area,” Smith said.
But, thanks to a collaboration between Baptist Hospital and the Port Arthur Health Department, help is now closer than ever.
The hospital is providing three Baptist Hospital employees, one nurse practitioner and the medical director for the program.
"We're offering initial prenatal care all which are important before you start your pregnancy,” says Dr. William Hawkins, medical director of the new program. “This helps manage the patient's medical problems in the first trimester and help them have a healthy pregnancy.”
With the need for prenatal care in Southeast Texas on the rise the timing of the new program couldn't be better.
"We've lost a lot of providers,” Dr. Hawkins said. “We've had people that really contribute to the community. And these individuals have retired, and nobody has replaced them."
When it comes to affordability, the program has different options.
"We have Medicaid that we're accepting. We take cash paying patients, “ Dr. Hawkins explains. “We also have a sliding scale based on the patient's income, so we want to make sure that everybody's covered."
It's just one way of putting Southeast Texas mothers first.
"I think that it is really a blessing for us to have this type of program, not only in the health department, but in this area,” said Smith.
The prenatal clinic is at the Port Arthur Health Department located at 5860 9th Ave in Port Arthur.
Walk-ins are welcome and may even be seen the same day if there's room on the schedule.
Appointments can be made by calling (409) 212-6075.