Regional One Health’s Women’s Services team can help women protect and improve their health at all stages of life.
Our team provides services in OB/GYN, midwifery, gynecologic surgery, gynecologic oncology, high-risk pregnancy, menopause care, and more.
Our goal is the build lasting relationships with patients so we can meet their evolving health care needs in a supportive, comfortable environment.
At Regional One Health, helping women improve their health means offering care options for all ages and stages of life.
OB/GYN physicians Marina Santa Cruz Terrazas, MD and Laura Himel, MD, MBA hosted a “Lunch & Learn” to highlight the care Regional One Health’s Women’s Services team provides.
“We’re well known for our high-risk obstetrics care, but we’re about more than moms and babies!” Dr. Himel said. “We offer OB/GYNs, maternal fetal medicine specialists, midwifery, and gynecologic services to serve women with a variety of medical concerns.”
Dr. Santa Cruz said the goal is for women to build a care team that helps them achieve their personal goals. “Making patients comfortable is very important to us,” she said. “We understand that it’s important for you to be in a place where you feel safe and cared for.”
In obstetrics, Dr. Himel said, Regional One Health is a leader in high-risk pregnancy care. Maternal fetal medicine specialists see patients with complications like diabetes, preeclampsia, fetal anomalies, multiples, recurrent pregnancy loss, and pre-term labor.
Dr. Himel noted Regional One Health offers women who have had a previous C-section a chance to attempt to deliver vaginally. Because Regional One Health offers in-house anesthesiology and obstetric surgery suites, these patients can switch seamlessly to a C-section if necessary.
The hospital also offers exceptional care for routine pregnancies and deliveries. The Labor & Delivery Center features updated patient rooms and family areas, and Regional One Health is the only local hospital where patients can give birth with support from a Certified Nurse Midwife.
Regional One Health offers a variety of styles of prenatal and childbirth care, including specialists in OB/GYN, midwifery, and high-risk pregnancy care.
Dr. Himel said offering both OB/GYNs and nurse midwives gives patients the chance to find the model of care that is right for them.
OB/GYNs and nurse midwives follow the same evidence-based guidelines, prescribe epidurals and other medications, and collaborate with other specialists. OB/GYNs are medical doctors who can perform surgery when needed, while nurse midwives are advanced nurse practitioners who provide a personalized model of care aimed at minimizing interventions.
Outside of pregnancy and birth, the Women’s Services team offers gynecologic services tailored to routine and specialized needs.
Dr. Santa Cruz said general gynecology services are available at the downtown Memphis Outpatient Center, East Campus in East Memphis, and Hollywood Primary Care. Providers see patients for well-woman care, preventative care, abnormal uterine bleeding, fibroids, polycystic ovarian syndrome, contraception, breast evaluation, urinary concerns, and more.
“At the East Campus, we offer walk-in mammograms, so you can have your appointment with your gynecologist and then go straight to have your screening mammogram,” she noted.
John Schorge, MD, FACS, Chief of the OB/GYN service, leads a gynecologic oncology and complex gynecologic surgery practice to treat uterine, ovarian, cervical, and vulvar cancer; and benign conditions like fibroids, abnormal uterine bleeding, ovarian cysts, and endometriosis.
“We have put a big focus on minimally invasive surgery,” Dr. Himel said. “This is great for patients, because it means a faster recovery, smaller incisions, less bleeding, and lower risk of infection. Usually, you go home the same day so you can sleep in your own bed!”
Regional One Health’s Women’s Services team include providers with expertise in caring for women at all stages of life, from adolescence to menopause.
Regional One Health offers the most advanced robotic surgery technology available in Memphis, and patients who are not eligible for robotic procedures often have laparoscopic surgery. Other patients are candidates for vaginal hysterectomies, which does not require incisions.
Dr. Santa Cruz said doctors also offer in-office procedures like IUD placement and removal, removal of pre-cancerous cells, endometrial biopsies, and more. “We’re able to do this because we offer better pain management options, such as local anesthesia and cervical blocks,” she said.
There are a number of additional specialty gynecology clinics.
Dr. Santa Cruz leads the Center for HPV and Dysplasia, which helps identify and treat lesions to prevent cervical, vaginal, vulvar, anal, and other cancers caused by the human papillomavirus.
The Menopause Care Practice, spearheaded by Pallavi Khanna, MD, helps patients manage their symptoms and risk of serious illnesses. Dr. Himel encouraged patients to see an expert like Dr. Khanna if they are interested in hormone replacement therapy, rather than choosing unregulated pellets or creams: “You want the least amount of hormone for the least amount of time to control your symptoms,” she said. “You want the amount of hormone to be regulated by a professional.”
Regional One Health is also home to the city’s only fellowship-trained pediatric and adolescent gynecologist, Claudette Shephard, MD. She helps with adolescent reproductive health, menstrual problems, child abuse evaluation, and congenital abnormalities.
“We care for women of all ages and for a variety of concerns,” Dr. Marina Santa Cruz said. “We want to make it easier for women to find the care they need!”
Owen Phillips, MD offers a genetics and genomics clinic to provide screening and care for fetal abnormalities and pregnant patients who have had an abnormal ultrasound.
William Kutteh, MD sees patients for reproductive endocrinology and infertility counseling. He helps with polycystic ovarian syndrome, recurrent pregnancy loss, assisted reproductive technology for infertility, fertility preservation, and more. Dr. Himel noted Regional One Health is starting a fellowship in reproductive endocrinology to train new providers.
Soon, the health care system will open two new clinics.
Molly Houser, MD, FACOG, CDE will spearhead a Complex Contraception Clinic for patients of reproductive age with chronic conditions like lupus, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, history of congenital cardiac repair, etc. These patients require specialized birth control counseling because pregnancy is especially risky for them.
Linda Moses, MD, FACOG, is starting an obesity medicine service for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of obesity.
The goal is to provide women the options they need to improve their health. “We care for women of all ages and for a variety of concerns,” Dr. Santa Cruz said. “We want to make it easier for women to find the care they need!”