Community Connection: New Updates from the Women’s Division at McKenzie Health

McKenzie Health Women’s Health Department Celebrates 2 Years

by Dr. Carol Uhlman, OBGYN

Greetings from the Women’s Division at McKenzie Health here in Watford City! We are now completing our second year of services. It has been exciting to watch the growth of the department since the doors opened, and we have been fortunate to share nearly 100 births with local families this year. The community has been welcoming and anxious for continued additions to our services to be offered. Our goal remains to provide the highest level of care to our growing families. We have assembled a great team to accomplish this and would like to introduce some of our members over the next several months.

First is our leader, Ellen Augustine – RN; she comes to us with 48 years of nursing experience. Her areas of expertise are Maternal Child Health and Nursing Administration. She left sunny Houston, Texas, to join our ranks. She is married and has two grown sons. Since joining the team early this year, she has demonstrated herself as a hands-on leader that thoroughly enjoys training staff. She has an incredible talent of seeing unmet needs, finding solutions, and quickly implementing a plan. Just a sampling of her improvements include identifying the lack of local lactation support. She has identified team members to receive additional training with having a certified lactation consultant soon.

A major contributor to maternal morbidity during childbirth is hemorrhage or extreme blood loss. As we strive to provide the safest environment possible for our moms, the most up-to-date equipment has been secured as well as training staff to confidently provide emergency measures. This was one of Ellen’s first priorities. A more recent project has been obtaining nitrous oxide for the unit. Each woman has unique desires regarding management of their labors. As such, Ellen researched and obtained nitrous oxide as yet another option to provide relief during labor. These are just a few of her projects as she continues to enjoy adding to staff’s knowledge as well as instilling confidence in their skills. She works closely with our obstetricians and pediatricians making sure our moms and babies are in great hands. We love seeing her bright smile each day and feel fortunate having her as a key component of our team.

Additionally, we have established our obstetrician team and have a cohesive group of women striving to provide as many obstetric and gynecologic services to the area as possible. Many of the services we are offering now were not available in the past without traveling a distance.

The first to join our team was Dr. Andrea DiMichele-Manes. She obtained her training in Newark, DE, and has 18 years of experience. She is married with three sons and comes from Pocatello, ID. She is currently preparing for North Dakota’s harsher winters. Dr. DiMichele has special interests in contraceptive care, infertility, menstrual disorders, menopause care, and women’s bladder issues. She strives to provide women with options in medical or surgical care to improve their daily lives. When not at work, she loves to spend time with her family and is a budding photographer. Dr. DiMichele is accepting new patients! You can schedule with her by calling 701-444-2235.