Jodi Regan, MD, FACOG, is a perinatologist with Akron Children’s Maternal Fetal Medicine Center.
Every day at Akron Children’s, we strive to deliver compassionate care and create positive experiences for our patients and families. This month, we’re spotlighting Jodi Regan, MD, FACOG, a perinatologist with the Maternal Fetal Medicine department, who recently received the following feedback from a patient family:
“My husband and I have nothing but wonderful things to say about Dr. (Jodi) Regan! I was a high-risk pregnancy with maternal age and twins, and from the time I met her, she put my mind at ease, while being extremely honest at the same time. She wrote everything down for me, as to what would happen at each appointment. She put me in touch with other experts in her office, such as nutritionists and psychologists, in case I needed them. She was extremely professional, while having great bedside manner and being warm and comforting at the same time. I delivered early because of a cervix issue, but because of the great prenatal care I received from her, my twins are thriving in the NICU! She even checks in from time to time to see how my girls and I are. Highly recommend!”
How long have you worked at Akron Children’s, and what’s your role?
I have worked at Akron Children’s since September 2019. I am a Maternal Fetal Medicine provider, who did a fellowship in high-risk pregnancy care as a specialty of Obstetrics and Gynecology for three years beyond my residency.
Reflecting on this patient experience and the feedback you received, how do you feel about it?
I know this particular patient and the difficult journey she had throughout her pregnancy. I am honored she took the time to write this in her current role as a new mom. It is a humbling experience doing what we do.
How do you build this level of trust with a patient to keep them informed but also calm?
This is difficult to explain, because we often give unexpected and quite possibly bad news, so keeping someone calm is difficult. It may take many visits to garner trust from the patient and the family, and we hope that the perception is that we care and want to help. Perception of what we are saying to the family is really important, as we are helping this unborn child (or children) and mom have the best outcome. It may not always go well the first time.
What does patient- and family-centered care mean to you? How do you strive to deliver that care?
We want the best for our patients. The unborn child also is part of the family unit as a whole, so having to think about them as a person is important and how their condition will impact the family is also a function of what we do as providers. As a Maternal Fetal Medicine clinic, we want people to know that these are our children, too. We really care, and this is a blanket statement for all the people who provide care in our office either indirectly or directly.
What do you most enjoy about your work at Akron Children’s?
I enjoy the people I work with: the sonographers, the nurses, the clinical support staff and my partners. Everyone in Akron Children’s Maternal Fetal Medicine strives to give the best care to our patients and the families of these babies. I really feel lucky to do this job every day and work in such an amazing organization.
