Comprehensive pregnancy care services and supports are now available through the Encompass Pregnancy Care clinic at the Urgent and Primary Care Centre in Cranbrook.
The new clinic, which opened in March, is supported by eight Cranbrook-based maternity physicians and staffed with an experienced pregnancy care nurse.
Encompass Pregnancy Care was created to be a non-judgemental, inclusive, and culturally safe space in which all patients feel heard, at-ease, and supported, according to Interior Health.
“We’re a group of local physicians working together to provide all-encompassing, high-quality and standardized medical and supportive care to pregnant patients,” said Dr. Madeline Oosthuizen, Family Physician and Encompass clinic physician.
“Parents will have the opportunity to get to know each member of our physician team, will meet directly each visit with our clinic maternity nurse, who is a wealth of information, and will be connected with other community resources and health services specific to pre and postnatal care.”
Encompass Pregnancy Clinic is a part of the East Kootenay Primary Care Network, a network of team-based care providers in the region. Patients attending the clinic can have one-stop access to a number of care options, including mental wellness clinicians, physiotherapists, social workers and more.
Encompass Pregnancy Care services include:
• Pre and postnatal care
• Labour and delivery in the East Kootenay Regional Hospital
• Early pregnancy loss support and management
• Pre-conception counselling
• Contraception options
• Family planning
• Lactation support
The Encompass Pregnancy Care clinic is accepting new patients from Cranbrook and surrounding communities. If anyone would like pregnancy care, call the Urgent and Primary Care Centre to make an appointment at (250) 420-2323.
The Urgent and Primary Care Centre in Cranbrook — located at Baker Street Professional Centre at 1311 2nd St. — opened last December, through a partnership between Ministry of Health, Interior Health, the East Kootenay Division of Family Practice, Ktunaxa Nation, and the Kootenay East Regional Hospital District Board.
The UPCC supports patients who are experiencing non-life-threatening conditions and need to see a health care professional, but do not require an emergency department visit.