MCHS Austin opens new cesarean section operating room

As part of ongoing renovations at Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin, a new caesarian section operating room was opened earlier this week.  The new room is larger than the older one, allowing two children to be kept there after their mother has the procedure, and Dr. Heidi Gaston, Chair of OBGYN services in Austin stated to KAUS News that the new, state-of-the-art facility is the first stage of a new family birth center for both the Austin and Albert Lea campuses…

Dr. Sara Scherger, Chair of Pediatrics in Austin stated that the new facility will also provide more space to operate a piece of equipment that allows the doctors to connect with a neonatologist in Rochester….

Dr. Jennifer Goins, Chair of the anesthesiology department stated that from now on, deliveries will be done at the Austin campus rather than at both it and the hospital in Albert Lea.  She added that bringing the two sites together will allow staff from different disciplines to work together on a daily basis to plan how to deal with patients. Gloin went on to state that combining the sites will also mean having a dedicated anesthesiologist during the day for obstetrics and in the event of a situation in the emergency room, which is in addition to the anesthesiologists normally on call.  

Clinical services like gynecology, pediatrics and more, will still be at the Albert Lea facility and once the project is complete, there will be 10 labor and recovery suites in addition to the c-section area.