Expansion of St. Bernards Pregnancy Clinic complete

St. Bernards Pregnancy Clinic, which provides prenatal services to expectant mothers, has undergone a significant expansion in terms of space and services.

The two grants come from the Blue & You Foundation for $24,100 and the Pregnancy Help Organization through the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration for $40,000 helped to fund the expansion. Specifically, these funds helped the clinic purchase car seats, safe sleep environments and educational materials for new parents.

Dana Lands, St. Bernards Nursing Director for Women’s and Children’s Services, said the clinic has also renovated space for laboratory equipment and testing, patient exams, antepartum testing, high-risk telemedicine ultrasounds, private consultation, patient education and clinical offices.

“This clinic truly is the mission of St. Bernards, ‘to provide Christ-like healing to the community,’” Lands said. “It provides care to all pregnant women who walk through its doors, regardless of their ability to pay. This expansion lets us walk alongside more women throughout a pregnancy and beyond.”

Because of recent higher patient volumes, Lands said the Pregnancy Clinic has not only expanded at its current location in Jonesboro, but it has also expanded regionally.

“In 2023 we began seeing pregnant moms at the St. Bernards Specialty Clinic in Walnut Ridge, and we have identified Osceola as our next service area looking ahead,” Lands said.

The clinic will add another APRN to meet these increased needs in addition to the two OB physicians and other APRNs who already practice at the clinic. In addition, it employs a social worker and lactation consultant.

“We began this clinic eight years ago because we kept seeing challenging maternal outcomes across eastern Arkansas,” Lands said. “We still have so much progress to make, but our Pregnancy Clinic has changed the perception of where our situation is to where it’s going.”