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NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center today announced the opening of The Carmen and John Thain Center for Prenatal Pediatrics. The new unit will provide high-risk pregnant women and their babies the most comprehensive care currently available, all in one location.

Located on the 12th floor of the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, the 10,000-square-foot Center for Prenatal Pediatrics is home to seven ultrasound rooms, two echocardiogram rooms, multiple exam rooms and doctors' offices, as well as space to conduct prenatal diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, such as amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling, and laser therapy for twin-to-twin transfusion.

"The Center for Prenatal Pediatrics is dedicated to helping pregnant women and their families when a significant birth defect or genetic condition is found in the unborn baby or when families experience other complications during pregnancy," says Dr. Mary D'Alton, director of Obstetrics & Gynecology Services at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and the Willard C. Rappleye Professor and chair of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. "The Center is the only one of its kind in the tri-state area offering comprehensive, multidisciplinary prenatal diagnosis and therapy care in conjunction with pediatric subspecialty consultations."

Building on an initiative that launched with the opening of the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian in 2003, and The Carmen and John Thain Labor and Delivery Unit in 2004, the newest unit represents the latest phase in the Hospital's ongoing commitment to providing exemplary care for women and children.

"While the Hospital is committed to providing the highest level of individualized care in every field of medicine, we take special pride in the services we offer for women and children," says Dr. Herbert Pardes, president and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. "The generosity of the Thain family has allowed us to take our care of women and children to an even higher level."

The Center for Prenatal Pediatrics complements The Thain Labor and Delivery Unit, which offers spacious, airy delivery rooms, state-of-the-art operating rooms and post-delivery beds for high-risk pregnancies. The Center, with its expansive Hudson River views and contemporary design, facilitates care for babies with abnormalities before birth and after with neonatal and long-term pediatric follow-up.

"A pregnant woman who has just learned that her unborn child has some sort of abnormality is already facing tremendous stress," Dr. D'Alton says. "Our goal is to minimize additional stress by making her care and her baby's care as seamless and thoughtful as possible."

To that end, coordination of care is central to the Center's philosophy. From the time a patient is referred to the Center and receives her first ultrasound, she will receive coordinated care from a range of appropriate maternal and pediatric on-site specialists. Center staff coordinates all care — ensuring, where possible, that appointments to see different obstetric and pediatric doctors are scheduled as conveniently as possible.

Under the direction of Dr. D'Alton, a leader in the field of maternal-fetal medicine, the Sloane Hospital for Women at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia is home to one of the broadest and technologically advanced programs for high-risk pregnancy in the country. Dr. D'Alton is credited with guiding the growth of the high-risk program, which today is one of the largest and most sought after of its kind, offering more specialized services than any other program in the United States. In 2009, the Sloane Hospital for Women at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia cared for nearly 5,000 women, of which an estimated 30 percent was considered to be high risk. U.S.News & World Report currently ranks NewYork-Presbyterian #9 in the nation in gynecology, #5 in neonatology and #6 in pediatric heart and heart surgery.

Carmen and John Thain have had a long-standing interest in NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia's Sloane Hospital and women's health in general.

"We are so proud to be working with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital to help build a Center that provides world-class care to women who have the highest risk of complications in their pregnancies," says John Thain. "This multidisciplinary Center is one of only several in the country that provides this kind of care. We are delighted to be able to continue to support women's health initiatives at NewYork-Presbyterian."

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, based in New York City, is the nation's largest not-for-profit, non-sectarian hospital, with 2,353 beds. The Hospital has nearly 2 million inpatient and outpatient visits in a year, including more than 220,000 visits to its emergency departments — more than any other area hospital. NewYork-Presbyterian provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine at five major centers: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian/The Allen Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division. One of the most comprehensive health care institutions in the world, the Hospital is committed to excellence in patient care, research, education and community service. NewYork-Presbyterian is the #1 hospital in the New York metropolitan area and is consistently ranked among the best academic medical institutions in the nation, according to U.S.News & World Report. The Hospital has academic affiliations with two of the nation's leading medical colleges: Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Columbia University Medical Center

Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, pre-clinical and clinical research, in medical and health sciences education, and in patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Established in 1767, Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons was the first institution in the country to grant the M.D. degree and is now among the most selective medical schools in the country. Columbia University Medical Center is home to the most comprehensive medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest in the United States. Columbia University Medical Center is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, the nation's largest not-for-profit, non-sectarian hospital provider. For more information, visit www.cumc.columbia.edu.