Lozick Family Foundation Lead Gift Launches UH Mobile OB Unit

From Left to Right: Patricia DePompei, RN, MSN, President, UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s and UH MacDonald Women’s Hospital; Rainbow Babies & Children's Foundation Chair in Leadership and Innovation; Maria Spangler, The Sherwin-Williams Foundation; Cathey Lozick, Lozick Family Foundation; Jennifer Ansberry, Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc; Amanda Butler, Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc; and Lorna Wisham, FirstEnergy Foundation

University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s is expanding Maternal Fetal Medicine services to Portage and Lorain counties with the launch of a first-of-its-kind mobile obstetrics imaging unit focused on fetal ultrasound.

The UH Mobile OB Unit was made possible thanks to a significant gift from the Lozick Family Foundation, with additional support from FirstEnergy Foundation, Lincoln Electric Foundation and The Sherwin-Williams Foundation.

“Too many of our patients do not have access to critical prenatal care and maternal fetal medicine imaging in their communities,” says Patti DePompei, President, UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s and MacDonald Women’s hospitals and Rainbow Babies & Children's Foundation Chair in Leadership and Innovation. “It is our mission to ensure more women receive the expert imaging they need to give birth to a healthy baby safely and confidently.”

“We have been working on bringing this high-quality fetal ultrasound closer to our patients for quite some time and it is exciting to see it finally come to fruition,” says David Hackney, MD, Chief of Maternal Fetal Medicine, UH Cleveland Medical Center. “The flexibility and efficiency of the unit will allow our experts to care for more women during pregnancy and fill gaps in access to care. Throughout the country, and also in Northeast Ohio, health risks of pregnancy like high blood pressure and preterm birth have been rising. Expert prenatal care, including fetal imaging, can help address this trend.”

The UH Mobile OB Unit travels five days per week to perform fetal ultrasounds for pregnant patients. On Tuesday and Friday the mobile unit will be located in the parking lot of UH Elyria Medical Center, and on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at UH Portage Medical Center. The mobile unit is staffed with specialty sonographers, and MFM experts review the ultrasounds remotely.

Training the Next Generation

The Lozick Family Foundation gift will also support a fellowship established in partnership with MetroHealth as well as sophisticated simulation training. Simulation training ensures our high-risk pregnancy and neonatal specialists are prepared for not only the complex, unexpected cases, but can also identify and fix any mistakes that may come up in a training scenario.

“I’d like to thank Cathey Lozick and the Lozick Family Foundation for their long-standing support,” said Patti. “With this gift, UH Rainbow and MacDonald Women’s hospitals will be able to address our community’s growing need for high-risk pregnancy and infant care, including preparing the next generation of national leaders in the field and training current and future clinicians to respond expertly and heroically when called upon to ensure healthy moms and healthy babies.”

“Anything we can do to improve pregnancy and pediatric outcomes have the potential to positively affect public health as a whole,” said Dr. Hackney. “By providing the best possible care for our pregnant population, we can move the needle in a meaningful way.”