A new clinic in Fort Smith serves women who need medical care but can’t afford it.
McAuley Clinic was established in 2019 as an obstetrics and gynecology clinic to solve several challenges and fulfill its mission to “bring to life the healing ministry of Jesus.”
Before the clinic opened, many pregnant women in the city couldn’t get an appointment to see a doctor until their second trimester.
“We currently deliver about 2,400 babies a year,” lead physician Dr. Andrew Riche said. “We only have 12 obstetrician/gynecologists between Mercy OB-GYN and Eastside OB-GYN clinics. We had to schedule visits months in advance and sometimes couldn’t see pregnant patients until the second trimester.
“We had been experiencing an increase in ladies who could not afford medical care, with no insurance or means to pay, showing up for labor and delivery without having had prenatal care. This puts moms and babies at greater risk, affecting the nursery, pediatricians and the overall health of our community.”
Mercy Fort Smith provided 24-hour coverage in its obstetrics emergency room, but it realized it needed to provide prenatal and gynecological care to uninsured and underinsured women.
McAuley Clinic, named after Sisters of Mercy founder Catherine McAuley, has a non-stress testing room for fetal heart rate and contraction measurement, five examination rooms and sonography and lab services.
Dabney Paige Herrold, a nurse practitioner, provides prenatal and postpartum care and gynecological services. Riche attends new patient visits, reviews Herrold’s exam notes and consults with her regularly. A hospitalist cares for mothers in labor and delivery.
Ryan Gehrig, Mercy Fort Smith’s CEO, and Riche assisted Heart to Heart Pregnancy Support Center by arranging for University of Arkansas Fort Smith students to do ultrasounds under the supervision of their professor, a licensed sonographer. Riche, who reviews the Heart to Heart sonograms, said, “These patients are at risk for no prenatal care or termination.”
“If we can show them a photo and set up their first appointment at McAuley Clinic, we will be able to assess their medical needs and provide care as soon as possible,” he said.
McAuley Clinic also has a relationship with Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine. The college graduated its first class of doctors in May, and Mercy works with seven residents and several med students.
“Three-year family practice residencies include women’s health care, obstetrics and gynecology experience,” Riche said. “We started seeing gynecological patients at McAuley so students and residents can learn how to perform annual physical exams.”
Mercy refers uninsured visitors to its emergency room to these clinics for follow-up treatment for chronic health problems.
Residents and students will also work in the obstetric emergency room and deliver McAuley Clinic’s babies.
“We are having a banner year. In September, Mercy delivered 244 babies, our highest number ever,” Riche said. “We are looking for potentially a midwife or nurse practitioner to help out when the hospitalists get overwhelmed. We need primary care physicians and specialists, and we don’t have enough physicians in Fort Smith and outlying areas. It’s been proven that in areas with residency programs, most doctors will begin practicing within a 60-mile radius, so we are hopeful.”
