SEE Change with Annie Seelaus

SEEing Change in Maternal and Newborn Health with Guest Sheryl Ann Syby

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On this episode, we welcome Sheryl Ann Syby, Assistant Vice President of Women's and Children's Services at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center.  Sheryl has over 35 years of nursing experience, specializing in women's and children's health including pediatric care, OB Clinic, Family Centered Care, and Neonatal intensive Care unit. This is one of the topics that is near and dear to our hearts at Seelaus.  Sheryl's career journey has given her a front lines of the myriad issues that women and babies face and how the medical community is evolving to address their most critical needs including a Centering program for women that empowers women to advocate for themselves. 


About Sheryl Syby

Sheryl has over 35 years of nursing experience, specializing in women’s and children’s health. Prior to joining CBMC in 2024, she worked at Holy Name Medical Center as Director of Women’s and Children’s Services. More recently, Sheryl worked as the Assistant Vice President of Nursing at Hudson Regional Hospital. There she obtained operational experience broadened by her work in various clinical areas, including emergency medicine, perioperative services, case management, emergency management, security, and hospital education. Sheryl has a bachelor’s degree from Farleigh Dickinson University and her master’s degree in Leadership/Administration from Aspen University.


About Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center

Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center (CBMC) is a fully accredited acute care hospital and offers a comprehensive array of services including advanced cancer care, sophisticated neurology and neurosurgery services including a neuro-interventional lab and cardiac care featuring three cardiac catheterization labs.



About R. Seelaus & Co., Inc.

R. Seelaus & Co., Inc. was founded in 1984 by Richard Seelaus, originally as a municipal bond broker-dealer. The firm has since become a certified women's business enterprise ("WBE") and has grown into a full-service financial firm that is mission driven in its commitment to creating more opportunities for women in the financial services. R. Seelaus & Co., Inc. and its subsidiaries offer investment advisory, asset management, capital markets, brokerage, fixed income and equity trading, institutional sales, leveraged finance and insurance services. The R. Seelaus & Co., LLC subsidiary is a broker dealer registered with the SEC and member of FINRA, and the subsidiary Seelaus Asset Management, LLC, is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor ("RIA"). With various fixed income trading desks and more than seventy professionals, both entities serve individuals, families, public and private companies, non-profit organizations, and institutional investors. The firm has offices in NJ, CT, New Jersey, Connecticut, Illinois, South Carolina, and Massachusetts.

For more information about R. Seelaus & Co., and its subsidiaries visit www.rseelaus.com




Annie S.

Hi everyone, and welcome to SEE Change, the podcast where we highlight women doing amazing things in their industry. I'm so excited about today's episode because it's actually a follow-on episode highlighting a topic that we've spoken about on past episodes, but that's near and dear to our hearts here and part of our mission, which is women's health and children's health and services. So we're thrilled today to have uh Cheryl Ann Syby, who is joining us from Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center. She's the assistant vice president of women's and children's services and is here to talk a lot about what's going on at Barnabas, but also just to help us understand some of these issues and how to tackle them. Cheryl, welcome. It's so wonderful to have you here to talk about this topic that is so important to us here at C Loss. Um, you're the Assistant Vice President of Women and Children's Health at Cooperman Barnabas, which is part of the RD RWJ Barnabas Health System. Um so we're grateful that you're taking some time to share your expertise and observations on this. Um, let's dive right in. We'd love to hear a little bit about your own career journey and how you came to Cooperman Barnabas, but also why you focus on women and children's health.

Sheryl S.

Sure. So thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. It's actually an honor uh to be here and to kind of talk about my journey uh throughout my career. So I started out, I really felt like when I was like two or three years old, that this was something I really wanted to do and being a nurse. Um there's no nurses or anything in my family. Um, so my mom actually gave me two weeks of nursing school, but I think I was able to uh prove that. Uh right now I've been a nurse for 36 years. Wow. I know. I actually started out my career and pediatrics, um, which I really loved. Um I did that for an extended period of time. Um and then I actually had a mentor. Uh her name was Cheryl as well. Oh wow. Um I know. And she did pediatrics as well. So we kind of like feel like I've gone through the same journey with her. And she kind of thought that there was something in me that, you know, could help lead the pack, um, as she would say. So from Pediatrics, um, which again I did for an extended period of time, I did a little bit of NICU, which I really loved. Um, you know, taking care of the babies. I think it taught me a lot about who I am as a person. You know, kids are really open and honest, um, and they kind of tell you how they're feeling. So I learned a lot from them. From there, I kind of uh worked my way up to labor and delivery, um, where I really learned a lot. Um, I really didn't know labor and delivery, to be honest at all. Um, I learned a lot from my team. Um, and I actually asked a lot of questions and I kind of aligned myself with people who really wanted to teach me, which I really thought was important. You know, one thing that they stressed was that you really just need to learn how to lead people um and how to work with people, and everything else will come.

Annie S.

Right. And so that was your first m moment in your career of taking care of the moms in addition to the kids. Although I imagine if you're taking care of babies in the NICU, taking care of their moms at the same time is a big part of that.

Sheryl S.

Yeah, I mean, I think there's always a place where, you know, you feel like you're attracted to, right? So the newborns and the pediatric patients are something where I still say they're my favorite, right? Um, but I really feel like providing the mom the reassurance that you have someone that's been doing this very, very young and you know, their career is is really like I it I think it makes the moms kind of take a step back and feel like a lot more comfortable with certain situations. Because we know there are people who specialize in labor and then people who specialize in the baby part of it, right? So I think when you have a mom, you know, that's especially in a critical situation where she knows that I have two experts, um, I really think makes them feel a lot less nervous.

Annie S.

Absolutely.

Sheryl S.

Um, from there I actually took on other departments. I took on maternal fetal medicine in addition to some outside uh physician practices, and I really did that for an extended period of time. I was promoted uh probably about 25 years ago to administrative director over all of women's and children's services. Um I did that for probably about 32, 33 years at one organization. Um, and to be honest, uh something came up outside of that organization where I would learn a lot more of operations. Okay. So I took a leap of faith. Um it was something that was a very difficult decision for me. And I went to a small community hospital in the town that I grew up. Wow. Um and I learned a lot of operations there. Um and to be honest, I went out of my comfort zone. I kind of took on security departments, dietary departments, in addition to additional nursing units. Okay. Um and I learned a lot to be honest. Yes. And it was it said something about walking the floors and hearing my maiden name be called by my teachers and my fellow people I grew up with. Right. Um, I really feel like it actually attracted me more to the nursing career in general. I did that for about three years. Um, and believe it or not, due to low volume in their maternity unit, they needed to close it. Wow. And I really didn't understand how much I really loved maternity until it wasn't there. Right. Um and I felt like, you know, I did other things, but I didn't have that fulfillment that I really kind of missed. Um, and then this opportunity came up at uh Cooper Min Barnabas Medical Center and I had to take it.

Annie S.

Right. Yeah. That's amazing. And I love, and thank you for sharing all that because part of this podcast is to highlight issues that we care about, but it's also to highlight women who have done amazing things and had um career journeys that sometimes take you in directions that you didn't expect, um, that often challenge you um to step outside your comfort zone and and realize your potential. So thank you for sharing that because I think it's so important for people to hear, especially the part about it not being um having a lot of nurses in your family and and really having to follow your passion and have the guts to do that. So thank you for sharing all that. So tell us a little bit about what your role encompasses at Cooperman Barnabas. What are you responsible for? What is women and children's health at Cooperman Barnabas?

Sheryl S.

So, as you mentioned, I oversee now the women's and children's division. So that is pediatric, pediatric intensive care, pediatric outpatient clinic, OB Clinic, labor and delivery, women's and children's, meaning the family-centered care or postpartum, um, in addition to the newborn nursery and the neonatal intensive care unit. It's a lot. It is a lot.

Annie S.

Um, and you've spoken very eloquently about the mission of Cooperman Barnabas and RWJ Health broadly around health equity. Um, what does that mean to you? What does that look like at your hospital?

Sheryl S.

One is that we really treat everyone exactly the same, regardless of their ability to pay. And we know that really based on our mission and kind of what the senior leadership team kind of instills in us as employees. Um, I've mentioned many times that I wear my badge on my heart for many for a reason, right? Um, and that's actually instilled in our first day or two on orientation. But one is before any meeting, we talk about what our mission and vision is of the organization. And I have to tell you, the words are right there. Um, we really want to serve our community, we want to sustain a healthy community, and we want to really do that with love and compassion, not just for each other, um, for our patients, but for each other as well.

Annie S.

So when we did a podcast, which was about a year ago on maternal health, um we talked a lot about uh a big divide in outcomes uh racially for moms, um, and the importance of understanding why that is and how do you really tackle that? Um I worry about that with um a gender divide and women and how they advocate for themselves. Obviously, when you talk about women of color, um the statistics, if you zoom out, they're there, right? There are discrepancies. What do you think about that issue and how do you guys um tackle that problem?

Sheryl S.

Well, one thing that actually comes to mind is we have a centering project at uh Cooper Minbartemis Medical Center that actually advocates for women to speak about themselves and it actually empowers them. I have to be honest, it's a spectacular program. Uh we were chosen as one of the hospitals to pilot this project, and we're actually on our third year of uh renewal. We actually just awarded our certificate for next year, and it really empowers women, uh, you know, from all different backgrounds to really advocate for themselves. And not just that, but to kind of work together as a group so that we don't really feel divided.

Annie S.

Right. And I often feel that nurses are kind of on the front lines of those types of issues because it is a little bit easier sometimes and you're a little bit more hands-on with the nurses than the doctors when you're in those situations. Are you seeing better results from that program and other initiatives and just being mission-driven around these issues? Are you seeing women advocate for themselves more?

Sheryl S.

We actually are seeing it. Okay, good. We're seeing actually a lot of moms, even during labor, kind of coming in with a birth plan that was decided upon from the time that they were pregnant all through their entire pregnancy, and that we're really working with the team to do like a team birth approach, which is really essential to positive outcomes, right? Because we kind of know what the expectations of the patient are. We also know what the expectation expectation of the physicians are, and we kind of meet in the middle and come up with a plan of kind of how we are going to deliver these patients. That's amazing.

Annie S.

And so they really feel they have a voice and are being heard.

Sheryl S.

Yeah, I mean, listen, we round on our patients, and when we're rounding, we invite them to be part of their plan of care, right? That's really about team birth, and that's really who we are at Cooperman Barnabas. We're really about kind of involving the patient and all levels of discipline in the care to, you know, kind of pass the finish line and have a good outcome.

Annie S.

So, what do you think are kind of the issues that are top of mind for you right now in terms of the things that you want to see next for women and children's services, the women's and children's health issues that are top of mind for you? Um, obviously, there's a lot in the news about um changes in funding to hospitals and healthcare systems, changes uh in research funding. Um, are you guys thinking about that? You know, what's the next thing for you to tackle?

Sheryl S.

I mean, I think we're always um, you know, Mr. Manigan, um, who is our president of RWJ Health, Barnabas Health, really kind of goes over all of those things with us and kind of where our plans are for RWJ. Us as a division, we're always looking ahead, right? We're always looking at what we can kind of do better. And I have to tell you, the one system, one family helps as well. Because it's not just who we are in Livingston, it's who we are as a system, regardless of wherever we are. So we've been addressing those issues. We're actually proactively addressing those issues.

Annie S.

And is there collaboration? I don't know if you know the answer to this, but is there collaboration between the various health systems about some of these issues and approaches?

Sheryl S.

I mean, I think we uh address that as a state, right? Right. Um, and we all feel like we have a voice. So regardless of whether you're a small community hospital or system, we all have the ability to kind of speak about that at legislations and things like that that actually RWJ does attend.

Annie S.

Okay. And is there a discrepancy in um the amount of funding and support that some of the women's health issues get versus some of the other issues in the hospital and and the other places that are being fundraised for?

Sheryl S.

So that actually I'm probably not uh able to answer. I don't have that information available. Um but I'm sure depending on the size of your system, but I I can speak about that.

Annie S.

Right. And so that's an interesting point because I know we were talking about this, but I think a lot of people in New Jersey don't even appreciate the size and scale of RWJ. But it's the largest health system in the state.

Sheryl S.

It is.

Annie S.

And what does that look like in your department? What are what are some of the numbers?

Sheryl S.

So we do over 6,400 births a year. Wow. Um, yes. So we're actually the largest um hospital within RWJ Barnabas Health uh for the amount of deliveries that we do a year.

Annie S.

That's crazy. And you are often the place that some of the higher risk cases get sent, is that right? Correct.

Sheryl S.

Um, you know, very early on in my career, um, you know, Cooperman Barnabas has been a place where I've always wanted to work due to the complexities um and their outcomes. So, regardless, you know, this is the place to be, in my opinion, right? Um, it's a place where I've always wanted to work. Um, statistics tell itself. Um we have babies from 23 weeks on that do very well without having any comorbidities or you know adverse um events happening, which is amazing. That's really wild. We have moms that come in that are very, very sick that um do well. That's amazing. It is amazing.

Annie S.

Um and you had spent, as you mentioned before, you had spent part of your career in a smaller community hospital. What are the challenges that you see those smaller hospitals facing versus the big systems and and how do those two things coexist and and work together, if if at all?

Sheryl S.

I mean, I think the ability to kind of uh you know have all of your specialists under one roof for a small community hospital, they're really not as available to us as uh someplace like uh RWJ. Right. So I think that that we have all of our specialists under one roof at all times, um, which I think again, we don't want there to be any delays or you know, any waits. So uh for us I think that that's a big benefit. Uh one thing I really love is that we do have a community feel to it. Yeah. Which, you know, we don't want our patients to feel like numbers. Right. Right. So when you're doing the amount of volume that we have, we want to treat every single patient as if they're a family member of ours. And that's another thing that really kind of makes I think Cooperman stand out.

Annie S.

Yeah. No, I I mean living in the area, I definitely feel that, whether it's through community events or just the the experience of being in the hospital. But it's a little bit why I was surprised at the size and scale of the organization because you definitely don't have that feel.

Sheryl S.

Yeah, I mean, even as a new employee walking, you know, walking the halls for the first time, people asking me, like, do you do you know where you're going? Do you need any help? Do you know all those things? That, you know, you really don't get that too much in a big academic medical center.

Annie S.

Yeah, no, I think that that's amazing. Um so let's talk about healthcare workers in general for a minute. Um, obviously, we all know that during COVID, um, it was very difficult for healthcare workers in general. A lot of um people hung it up during that time um after enduring a lot of stress. Uh what is the picture now for nurses? Do you still find it difficult to staff? Um, are you seeing more people come back to the profession? What do you think is tied into bringing people into nursing?

Sheryl S.

I mean, I think staffing is very appropriate currently where we are. Um we are actually recruiting. We have about three to four hundred people actually on orientation almost a month, which is a pretty significant number. We are seeing a lot of new grads uh kind of coming into the profession, which is really a plus for us, right? That's great. Um, you know, there is of course that generational gap. So you have the people with a lot of experience and then the newcomers in any yes, exactly, exactly. But I have to tell you, I think that we're blending well. Okay. I think actually, even a member of the leadership team um doing this as long as I have, there's things that we could always do better. So again, uh Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center is always, in my opinion, a few steps ahead. Right. So they're kind of teaching us, you know, generational gap strategies and all of those things to kind of yeah, it actually is working out really well. Um, you know, the leadership development from people who've been doing this, you know, as long as I have to people kind of coming in. There's education on both ends to see where we can kind of meet in the middle. Yeah. And one thing is really um they kind of teach us is that we can't, if we don't take care of ourselves, we really can't take care of our patients.

Annie S.

And which is something women are not great at. Exactly.

Sheryl S.

And especially mind and body, yeah. It's not to put your own mask on first. Exactly. It's not just about, you know, eating and drinking, it's about what could we do? Yeah, how could we separate ourselves a little bit away from work to kind of enjoy ourselves and that we're entitled to all of that. And to be honest, as many years, and I told this to Robin, who's our chief nursing officer. I've never had someone actually tell me, you know what, take a few minutes just for yourself. Isn't that amazing? It's amazing, actually. It really is amazing. You besides, I I don't feel guilty. I almost feel like, no, I I I am taking time for myself. No, no, you're really not. You need to, you know, like put your phone down for five minutes, go for a walk. Right. Um, like I actually told him, I'm leaving the building for an hour, and I'm going to do my podcast. And he said, you know what? Have a blast. That's awesome. Right? And that's that means a lot. And that goes a long way. I have to tell you. And that that's literally, I could show you the text. And he wrote it with like exclamation points at the end.

Annie S.

I think that's huge. And honestly, you know, how are you guys supposed to be taking care of other people if you're not taking care of yourselves? Um, so to have that organizational support around that, uh, I think, you know, we talk about it all the time in our industry and finance of um you don't have to work yourself to the bone. You it's okay to take time out for your family. It's okay to take time out for your health. And, you know, it ebbs and flows, but it it does seem like younger generations are pushing more for that quality of life than you know, our generation maybe did. So um it's nice to see. I love that that's a nursing. I do think that will help people stay in it. Don't I agree? Agreed, agreed. I mean, I think it's work-life balance.

Sheryl S.

It is work-life balance. And what could we do to kind of have especially the younger generation feel like there is a balance because we don't want people to leave the the the uh profession, right? Because I always tell people like you'll never get the type of feeling that you get from your patients doing anything different than what I'm doing.

Annie S.

Yeah. I mean, your passion for it, I think, and for nursing in general, I do think you have to have a passion for it because it is incredibly stressful, I imagine. I mean, I tell people it's a calling.

Sheryl S.

Yeah, it's not it's not just a job or a career, it's something like you feel like this is what you're supposed to be doing. Yeah. You know, um, my daughter's actually hopefully going into the medical field. Wow. I know, very exciting. That's really interesting. And she she feels it. And uh and I said, if you don't have that feeling, it's kind of not a career for you. Yeah, right. Because, you know, missing Mother's Day and Christmas and all of those things, um, I don't really even see as a sacrifice. Right. Um, even during COVID. Um, you know, I remember people asking me who never did medicine or were never in the healthcare field, like, aren't you afraid? And I was like, you will never get to take care of patients when they're kind of by themselves. Right. You know, the nurses were there for the patients. Yeah. Not just to take care of them medically, but to be their uncle, aunts, daughter, wife, all of those things. Yeah. I would never be able to get that from any other position that I was in.

Annie S.

And I think anyone who's had a baby, and it was certainly my experience, um, it's the nurses that you remember. Those are the people that you're you're bonding with. So um, I have a great appreciation for the role that you play. Thank you so much. Um, you talked a little bit about in your career the role of mentorship. Um, we talk about it here all the time. How do you help women find their path, stick with their path, weather the storm, um, get through those really. Tough moments of being a working mom. I think mentorship is a really key component of that. I think it's a really strong way for the older generations to give back. How do you see that playing out at Cooperman Barnabas? How do you think about that now that you're on the flip side of it?

Sheryl S.

I mean, I think even mentoring, you know, early on, right, when they're still in high school and just letting you know that, you know, I am a successful businesswoman. Um, and you can do it. You just have to put your mind to it, right? You have to kind of sacrifice a little bit to kind of get so much back, right, from our patients. And I think I always feel like it's something we're supposed to be doing, right? We're supposed to be helping kind of guide the younger people to, you know, do the right thing, not just for us and for our patients, but also for themselves and for their families, right? So um for me, I mean, I like I I could never imagine doing anything different. Um you know, doing career day um, you know, at high schools, bringing in high school students, um, kind of just talking to them about what my everyday, you know, experiences are, I really think make a difference. Because I think, you know, sometimes when you're listening could to kind of them talking, they're already nervous about, you know, what happens if this, what happens if someone dies, what happens if blood, you know. And I have to I always tell them like that's a small part of a very big picture. Yeah. So we have to kind of look at the glass half full instead of half empty. Yep. And I think that kind of changes a lot of their decisions.

Annie S.

That demystifies it. I feel that whenever we get an opportunity to talk to young people, we encourage them. Find find older people, ask them the questions. Because you don't know until you're in it. And by the way, we've all made a lot of mistakes, right? Of course. So it's uh it's our gift to them to hopefully uh share those and and how we got through them.

Sheryl S.

Yeah, I say shadow me. Yeah shadow me for a little bit of time. Um, you know, see how I interact with everyone, see how, you know, what I kind of get from my patients every day. Yeah, right. Um, thank yous and you know, uh mean it's so much, right? It's only two words that really mean so much to me um as a as a leader within an organization, and I know that they will feel that as well.

Annie S.

So for young people that are interested in nursing and for people that were that are probably like you and and have known from a young age that this is something that they're passionate about, what are the ways that they can get involved, or are there ways they can get involved? Um, is there volunteerism for young people? Is there like the equivalent of an internship program that we would have um in our industry?

Sheryl S.

Yeah, so we have a volunteer program um that and you know anyone can kind of go on our website and there's a specific criteria and kind of an orientation process, which is actually very easy for high school students. We do have high school students volunteering. That's great. I know, and to be honest, it kind of exposes them to a little taste of what the hospital is kind of like. Yeah. And they kind of feel like they want to do more. That's and you can kind of identify even the the kids who you know will like, oh, that one's probably gonna be, you know, very successful doing uh, you know, whatever they uh chose to do as a career. Uh we have many, many different programs. We have a nurse externship program that we actually uh sponsor. We also have um local community high schools send us students. And I was just with students the other day and a girl came in saying, I don't really think I want to be a nurse. And by the time she left me, it only took me an hour. Uh she'll be attending nursing school hopefully, hopefully in September. Yeah.

Annie S.

That's so great to hear because I do think exposure at a young age and building that confidence to say, I want to do this, it's not a given. You have to give these kids opportunities to see it. Absolutely.

Sheryl S.

And I think now even bringing males into the profession, I was gonna it is actually it is very nice, right? It's kind of like our, you know, intensive care units, um, you know, all different areas. I even have male nurses working, labor and delivery. It's really it's a great experience, and I think it's a great addition to our our profession.

Annie S.

I love that. So are are you seeing the statistics change about men in the nursing profession?

Sheryl S.

We're seeing a lot more men coming into the nursing profession. That's interesting. Yeah, it's actually very interesting. That's and I think again, it's kind of that want and that need that um is something that's kind of changed us. Uh yeah. It's really a great addition.

Annie S.

Well, because I think the same we talk a lot about how you have to, you know, empower young girls to know that they can do something. The same goes for professions where maybe men feel uncomfortable and don't think it's uh a place for them. You have to sort of do that reach across the same other direction, right?

Sheryl S.

100%. I mean, I think there's certain specific areas that they're kind of attracted to. Most of the time, it's like an ER, an ICU. But I have to tell you, like I've mentioned, it is really it's a great addition and adds a lot more um, I think, like involvement, right? It's kind of like getting different perspectives instead of just a very, you know, a large pool of women. We do have men that kind of add a little bit of their perspective to it. Right. One um area that I can mention is kind of like we always address the mom, right? And we kind of feel like we leave the dad out a little bit, right? Totally. I have to tell you, now I find myself and I encourage my staff to do the same. It's like you ask your mom, the moms, do you feel comfortable going home? Do you feel comfortable taking care of yourself? But never forget the dad. Because now the dad has to take care of two patients. Right, right. So those are the things that were now involving dads in a a lot more.

Annie S.

Right. So um, you actually reminded me of a great thing that I wanted to talk about because I know some of the work that Cooperman Barnabas does in this area, but we've addressed on this podcast um maternal health and wanting to make sure uh the babies are born safely, that the mothers have good outcomes. But let's talk about then that next step, which is just as important that these mothers um that are sometimes coming from very disadvantaged situations without big support systems, without an economic cushion, are now leaving the hospital with a newborn. Um and we've partnered with you guys on some of the outreach to make sure that they have the supplies um that they need and have that. But but how do you think about that? Because that is also a piece of this puzzle, right? It it you know, once they go home, are they going to be supported and successful as new moms without a lot of resources?

Sheryl S.

I mean, based on their assessments that we do prior to them coming to the hospital and within the hospital, we identify to make sure that they have everything that they need, not just for themselves, but for their babies as well. That's great. So, based on any social determinants of care, we actually have a great program with the community health workers. Okay. So, community health workers, once we've identified that there's been some lack of, you know, determinants, meaning they don't have enough food, they don't have any, you know, driving, they have no um transportation kind of back and forth. The community health uh program at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center actually assists them in getting what they need. That's so great. It's actually an amazing program. Um we have been using it especially for moms that are in our clinic where their babies are in the NICU. Yeah. So they really feel like they don't want to go home because it's the inability to find busing and transportation back. Right. So the community health workers provide that for them. That's great. And they get a certain amount of like Uber rides back and forth to the hospital free of charge. That's so great. It is amazing.

Annie S.

It's interesting because I think about the experience of having a baby and whether you are very wealthy or not, it's universal that it's terrifying to leave the hospital with that baby, right? Absolutely. And so I think this is a place where I'd love to see women come together more around this idea of supporting each other. And um, I always say this I remember feeling like having a newborn was so hard. And I had everything. I had every gadget, I had every gizmo, my mom was around, my friends had babies, my sister was around, and it's still hard and it's still scary, and you're still in the middle of the night thinking, like, can I do this? Right. And you sort of take a minute and think about, you know, what if somebody doesn't have that, right? Like, wow. Um, and I just think that that's a place that we could pour a lot more manpower and resources into supporting all of that journey for for some of these women.

Sheryl S.

I mean, we have programs, you know, before you come to the hospital just to prepare you for coming in, right? You know, what to bring. We tour you around the hospital. But more importantly, at Cooperman Barnabas, we also have how can we help you after you go home? Right. So we have support groups. Uh, I think a large part of it and one of the big struggles for moms is that, you know, between, you know, the economy, people have to work. Yeah. So how can we kind of help them get there? Right. Right? How can we help them, you know, not feel guilty? You know, how can we help them, you know, know that they're not alone. Right. So we do have a lot of support groups that we have uh from moms of new moms, uh, new moms group.

Annie S.

Well, that's why I love talking to Cooperman Barnabas because I do think that you're a thought leader on these programs um and how to solve for some of these issues. And I think that other programs uh can learn a lot from them. And I just also think a lot of people that learn about it or listen to it and want to get involved, um, you know, can see this as a way to help, right?

Sheryl S.

Yeah, I mean, that's why I say that community feel, yeah, that important piece of sending you back to the community, knowing that as an organization or a system, we did everything possible for you to be successful, right? And I think that that is again who what we kind of do as a system, right, as a family, and what we do for our patients.

Annie S.

Yeah, I love that. Um, so I know we're sort of coming up to time, and I thank you for sharing all of this, but I did want to just um ask you before we wrap up what are the issues that you think are still out there in women's health that maybe you're tackling at Cooper Cooperman Barnabas, but that, you know, as a country, as a community, we can do better, that we need to shine a spotlight on.

Sheryl S.

Um, that's actually a great question. Um, I think that right now we're focusing a lot on our careers, um, right? And we're seeing moms that are have some comorbidities um and are older, right? Interesting. Um, having babies, right? So I think actually preventative medicine is really key. Interesting. And intensive um care, intensive um assessments really to make sure that you have a healthy pregnancy, regardless of your age. Okay. I think is is something that's super important because we are seeing moms in their thate 30s, 40s, sometimes even in their 50s, having newborns, right? So we want them to be a mom to their children, right? Right. And it's important that throughout your whole entire lifetime that we do serve the community and we do actually have preventive medicine instead of reactive medicine. Right. Having a mom that's in congestive heart failure because she's never been to a doctor is kind of what we're seeing. Right. So if we kind of saying it's okay if you have babies in your late 30s or 40s or even 50, but as long as we were able to provide you the care to get you to your healthiest point, so you're able to have a baby and a good outcome.

Annie S.

I love that you brought that up because it's actually just a nice sort of circular part of the conversation of uh this idea of just taking care of ourselves and each other, right? And and women needing to do better about that in general so that we can take care of all the things we need to take care of, but just that reminder that you know you have to take care of yourself and you have to partner with health workers to take good care of yourself.

Sheryl S.

Absolutely. And I think again, that will make us successful, right? Yeah. Not just from a career path perspective, but from a health from a health perspective.

Annie S.

I love it. Well, Cheryl, thank you for sharing all that. Thank you so much. It was such a pleasure. It's fascinating. Um, so impressed by you and your dedication to this. It's incredibly inspiring. I know it's going to be inspiring to our listeners and hopefully some young girls out there who are thinking about this as a career path. Thank you so much. I appreciate it very much.