The Division of Obstetric and Gynecologic Patient Safety Officers, part of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NYU Langone Health, cares for more than 15,000 patients on the labor and delivery unit of NYU Langone’s Tisch Hospital and NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn each year.

Our physicians, also called patient safety officers, provide around-the-clock advanced oversight and clinical care to all our patients. Approximately 10 to 20 percent of these women have high-risk pregnancies. If complications arise, we work with the patient’s private attending physician to provide care that ensures the best, safest outcome. We are the only patient safety program in the United States to offer this additional level of care.

Most of our physicians have been senior clinicians in private practice, and many have held academic leadership positions in the past. We have decades of experience caring for pregnant patients, many with high-risk obstetric conditions.

The education of medical students, residents, and fellows and close collaboration with nursing staff are central to our division and enhance the care of our patients, especially those at highest risk for complications.

Our Role in Education

We provide training in clinical obstetrics and quality and safety to medical students, residents, and fellows. We also train advanced practice providers and nursing staff.

Training for Medical Students

During their clerkship in obstetrics and gynecology, medical students can spend time in our division learning about obstetric topics and about quality and safety.

Training for Residents

In addition to participating in our division, residents have the opportunity to conduct research projects with our safety officers. Learn more about the Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency.

Training for Fellows

Maternal–fetal medicine fellows rotate on the labor and delivery unit and interact with our patient safety officers while caring for women with high-risk pregnancies.

Our Role in Patient Care

Safety officers respond to emergencies and provide consultation and support to the physicians, midwives, and other clinicians on the labor floor. This includes, but is not limited to, conducting clinical examinations and performing emergency cesarean deliveries or operative vaginal deliveries such as vacuum extraction and forceps deliveries. They also counsel patients on treatment options and offer second opinions when requested.

Safety officers also care directly for patients in our units, performing evaluations in our triage units and admitting patients who came from our Faculty Group Practice and patients who do not have a physician at NYU Langone. Officers personally manage labor, inductions, and deliveries for many of these patients.

Our Faculty

Our faculty are highly skilled in ensuring the safety of our patients on the labor and delivery floor.

Tisch Hospital

Richard H. Bodner, MD
Sepideh Mehri, MD
Gary Mucciolo, MD
Sharon Patrick, MD
Hemangi P. Shukla, DO

NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn

Kate J. Baicy, MD, PhD
Christina R. Flores, MD
Donald S. Matheson, MD
Veleka Willis, MD