News at UI Health

A new Obstetric Emergency Department (OBED) at UI Health opened June 28.

Though the unit has existed in the UI Health system since 2017, the opening of new, dedicated space - directly adjacent to Labor & Delivery on the 4th Floor of the University of Illinois Hospital - is especially notable, as it is the only such unit in the state and one of only four (4) OBEDs in the entire country.

The OBED specializes in the urgent and emergent care of pregnant patients receiving prenatal care and is the premier referral destination for OB/GYN patients across the Chicagoland area and state of Illinois. Patients across all gestational ages and in the six-week postpartum window with any presenting concern are cared for directly in the unit by skilled obstetric providers, including OB/GYN residents and attendings, certified nurse midwives, and Family & Community Medicine residents and attendings. 

Care in an OBED means patients can receive comprehensive high-acuity care of all conditions through the lens of obstetric specialists, allowing patients to have the testing, assessments, and management they need while balancing the safety of the maternal and fetal patient. For concerns requiring additional support, the unit has full access to consultation services also available in the main Emergency Department. Patients experiencing an obstetric or postpartum emergency, or patients who are pregnant with an urgent or emergent non-OB condition, will arrive to the main Emergency Department (the OBED unit is secure and not accessible by walk-in). Patients are triaged in and will be brought to the floor after being checked in downstairs - unless they require immediate stabilization for severe emergencies (an OB provider team will be called to the main ED in these rare circumstances). 

The OBED at also participates in IPAL transfers from outside emergency departments and Labor & Delivery triage units across the city and state.