Jocelyn A. Mitchell-Williams, MD, OB/GYN at Cooper and Associate Dean for multi-cultural and community affairs at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, is featured in the January issue of SJ Magazine as one of the people to watch in 2011.

“This is a community that deserves a medical school. The healthcare picture for Camden’s disenfranchised will be far, far brighter – and the school will be an economic engine for the region,” said Dr. Williams.

To read the complete article visit sjmagazine.net.

We’re happy to announce a new tradition to celebrate the birth of babies at Cooper. Each time a baby is born at the hospital, a few notes of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” is played over the public address system throughout One Cooper Plaza.

Respecting patients’ need for rest, the program is in effect during the hours of 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. For babies born overnight, the tone is played at 6:30 a.m.

Thank you to the Planetree Spirituality Component Team, which pioneered the idea, and to Mike Clark in IT, who installed the technology, and all the Health Care Access and Obstetrics staff who helped make the program possible. This is one more way Cooper is incorporating the Planetree philosophy to humanize, demystify and personalize the hospital for patients and our workplace.

The December 2010 issue of South Jersey magazine highlighted the groundbreaking ceremony of the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, which took place in October, with photos from the event. Cooper leadership featured in the photo include John P. Sheridan, Jr., President and CEO, and Paul Katz, MD, Founding Dean of the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University.

Robin Perry, MD, Chief, Obstetrics and Gynecology at Cooper, was also featured in this edition under the “Names to Know” section for receiving the March of Dimes Born to Shine Award for outstanding infant and maternity care.

In South Jersey’s first-ever power list, George E. Norcross, III, Chairman of the Board, John P. Sheridan, Jr., President and CEO and John Tedeschi, MD, member of the Board of Trustees, were all recognized for positively shaping our region through their vision and leadership.

Richard L. Fischer, M.D.

Recently-released federal data shows the national Cesarean rate for 2007 to be the highest ever reported, at 31.8 percent of all births, which is an increase of 54 percent from 1996.

The Courier-Post published an in-depth article discussing the trend in New Jersey and spoke with Richard L. Fischer, M.D., Head of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, about some of the possible reasons for the substantial increase. Dr. Fisher, who has been with Cooper for over twenty years, has seen the rate of C-sections increase nearly ten-percent over that time. Even with the increase, Cooper still has one of the lowest rates in the state.

“There are many issues that are driving the C-section rate increase in New Jersey,” Fischer said.

When Fischer first came to Cooper 21 years ago, the hospital’s C-section rate was 18 percent. Last year, that number climbed to 27.9 percent. But Cooper nonetheless maintains one of the lowest C-section rates in the state.

Fischer said the same has happened to the rate of labor inductions, which is now 22 percent of the 2,200 deliveries performed at Cooper every year. An induced labor doubles the chances C-section will be needed, Fischer said.

“The induction rate has been rising and it mirrors the rate of C-sections,” Fischer said.

Maternal obesity can lead to more birth complications and larger infants, Fischer said. Doctors also rely on a fetal heart rate monitor to determine if the fetus is in distress.

“We’re relying on a very imprecise tool, but it leads to an increase in C-section rates,” Fischer said. He added that before the monitor was widely used, the C-section rate was only 5 percent. But it is currently the only viable tool available.

Read the complete article on the Courier-Post‘s website at www.courierpostonline.com.

Cooper University Hospital conducted a nation-wide search and has appointed Robin L. Perry, M.D., as Chief of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Perry is board certified in Maternal & Fetal Medicine and Obstetrics & Gynecology. She is currently President of the Cooper Medical Staff.

“Dr. Perry’s proven leadership ability will allow the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Cooper to continue to grow under her guidance,” said John P. Sheridan, Jr., President and CEO at Cooper. “We have been expanding our practices in the suburban communities and will continue to focus on increasing the obstetrics program in South Jersey.”

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