Five Urogynecologists Achieve Subspecialty Certification

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Sept. 25, 2013 - PRLog -- Five physicians with the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery (http://www.womenandinfants.org/womenshealth/urogynecology/index.cfm) at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island (a Care New England hospital) and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University have achieved certification in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery (FPMRS) by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG).

Achieving this subspecialty certification are Cassandra L. Carberry, MD, FACOG, of Pawtucket; B. Star Hampton, MD, FACOG, of Providence; Deborah L. Myers, MD, FACOG, of North Kingstown, division director; Charles Rardin, MD, FACOG, of Providence, director of Minimally Invasive Surgery at Care New England; and Vivian Sung, MD, MPH, FACOG, of Providence.

“This is wonderful news not only for these outstanding physicians, but also for the women of our region,” said Maureen G. Phipps, MD, MPH, chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Women & Infants Hospital, executive chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Care New England, and Chace/Joukowsky professor and chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and assistant dean for Teaching and Research on Women’s Health at the Alpert Medical School.  “Achieving subspecialty certification is a rigorous process that ensures that our physicians are truly on the cutting edge of diagnosis and treatment protocols, as well as demonstrating a commitment to research that will continue to improve care.”

The staff at the Division of Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery are specially trained and prepared to help resolve the debilitating and distressing medical problems associated with urinary incontinence and pelvic floor support abnormalities. Patients from throughout New England are referred to the Division for diagnosis, therapeutic recommendations and definitive therapy. Particular effort is made to maintain the referring physician's special relationship with the patient as an integral part of the collaborative therapeutic decision in each instance.

The Division is one of eight national sites of the National Institutes of The Eunice Kennedy Shriver Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Pelvic Floor Disorders Network (https://pfdn.rti.org/Home.aspx) that develops and performs research studies related to women with pelvic floor disorders.  Physicians come from a wide geographic area to study and observe work being done here. It is a center devoted entirely to research, education, diagnosis and treatment of women's urogynecologic health problems.

The Division of Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery provides consultations, diagnosis and recommendations for treatment and care, offering a range of treatment, both surgical and non-surgical.  For information or to schedule an appointment, call (401) 453-7560.

About Women & Infants Hospital

Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island (http://www.womenandinfants.org/), a Care New England hospital, is one of the nation’s leading specialty hospitals for women and newborns.  The primary teaching affiliate of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University for obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics, as well as a number of specialized programs in women’s medicine, Women & Infants is the eighth largest stand-alone obstetrical service in the country with nearly 8,400 deliveries per year.  In 2009, Women & Infants opened the country’s largest, single-family room neonatal intensive care unit.

New England’s premier hospital for women and newborns, Women & Infants and Brown offer fellowship programs in gynecologic oncology, maternal-fetal medicine, urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery, neonatal-perinatal medicine, pediatric and perinatal pathology, gynecologic pathology and cytopathology, and reproductive endocrinology and infertility.  It is home to the nation’s only mother-baby perinatal psychiatric partial hospital, as well as the nation’s only fellowship program in obstetric medicine.

Women & Infants has been designated as a Breast Center of Excellence from the American College of Radiography; a Center of Excellence in Minimally Invasive Gynecology; a Center for In Vitro Maturation Excellence by SAGE In Vitro Fertilization; a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence by the National Institutes of Health; and a Neonatal Resource Services Center of Excellence.  It is one of the largest and most prestigious research facilities in high risk and normal obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics in the nation, and is a member of the National Cancer Institute’s Gynecologic Oncology Group and the National Institutes of Health’s Pelvic Floor Disorders Network.