Eastern Oklahoma Perinatal Center
Averaging 650 admissions each year, the EOPC is a progressive regional newborn intensive care unit with services specifically designed for babies born prematurely or with serious medical problems. The EOPC is a 44-bed unit with in-house neonatologists on hand 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Center has earned a Level IIIC designation, the highest rating possible for a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
In addition to the more than 90 nurses working around the clock in the EOPC, the unit's clinical manager, respiratory therapists, developmental specialists, discharge coordinator, lactation consultant, laboratory technologists, pharmacists and other support personnel provide the comprehensive care critically ill infants need.
Babies born prematurely or with serious medical problems receive the best possible chance for a normal, healthy life in the Eastern Oklahoma Perinatal Center (EOPC). Whether an infant was delivered at Saint Francis Hospital or transported from a surrounding hospital by the Saint Francis neonatal transport team, he or she will receive the most sophisticated medical care available in this special unit.
For babies born at other hospitals who need the special services of a Level II neonatal nursery, our neonatal team personally transports babies via our Life Flight helicopter or ground ambulance service.
Babies with severe lung disease benefit from the EOPC’s Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Unit. This innovative life support unit – the only system of its kind in northeastern Oklahoma and one of only a few in the country – temporarily breathes and pumps blood for the baby while the baby’s lungs rest and develop.
Taking a newborn home after illness can create both excitement and apprehension for parents. Our staff helps ease fears about the transition from hospital to home by offering classes about medication, equipment and special needs.
The EOPC Developmental Follow-up Clinic is a resource for parents and caregivers long after baby has left the hospital. The Clinic will help identify developmental challenges a child may face throughout childhood. The Follow-up Clinic maximizes a child’s long-term developmental potential with regular assessments and intervention. It is the only comprehensive developmental follow-up program of its kind in this region offering expertise from a developmental pediatrician and specialists.
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