Solving the OB/GYN Crisis: How Sarasota Memorial and Philanthropy are Transforming the Lives of Mothers and Babies
FALL 2025
The first trimester is a crucial time in pregnancy. It’s when doctors monitor fetal development, identify risks, and help ensure a safe, healthy delivery. But across the country—and here in Sarasota—women are struggling to get that early care. A nationwide shortage of obstetricians has left many expectant mothers waiting months for appointments or missing out on prenatal care altogether.
Sarasota Memorial, with the support of community partners and donors, decided to act. In January 2025, the hospital launched the Pregnancy Care Team, a first-of-its-kind program designed to bridge the gap in access. In just its first eight months, the team has already helped connect more than 400 women to timely prenatal care, reducing complications and giving babies a healthier start to life.
LISTENING, ACTING, SUPPORTING
For Abby Olsen, director of Women and Children’s Services at SMH-Sarasota, the program is both a professional mission and a personal calling. “I started as a labor and delivery nurse in 2016 and immediately knew this was where I belonged,” she said. “To walk alongside women at one of the most vulnerable and powerful times of their lives is an honor.”
When the OB/GYN shortage worsened last year, Olsen and her team began noticing troubling signs: more emergencies, rising Neonatal Intensive Care Unit admissions, and patients arriving at the hospital without any prenatal care.
“Each time a patient came in with preventable complications, it became clearer—we couldn’t wait for a long-term solution. We had to act immediately,” Olsen said.
Within weeks, the Pregnancy Care Team was born. Led by three experienced OB nurse navigators, the team helps women secure appointments, understand risks, and access community resources from housing to nutrition support.
One of the program’s earliest patients summed up its impact simply: “I feel like someone is finally listening to me.”
BUILDING A MODEL OF CARE
The results have been remarkable. Since launch, 100% of women who reached out for help have been connected to a provider. The hospital has tracked fewer NICU admissions and fewer mothers arriving without prenatal care.
“Our goal is not just to fill a gap, but to build a model of care that lasts,” Olsen said. The team is now preparing to expand with telehealth appointments and tailored education for high-risk patients, such as those with hypertension.
She added that the initiative would not exist without philanthropy. “The success of this program is 100% attributed to donors. Coming up with the idea was the easy part—funding it was the challenge. Every healthy birth, every complication avoided, every mother who feels heard—that’s the return on their investment, and it will benefit generations to come.”
“We are so fortunate that there are people in our community who know the importance of supporting these moms and families in need. Donor support helps put them on a path to success,” added Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation president, Stacey Corley.
DR. WASHINGTON HILL, CHAMPION FOR SAFE MOTHERHOOD
If Olsen is the present of maternal health at SMH, Dr. Washington Hill is its history—and its perpetual conscience.
A high-risk pregnancy specialist recruited to Sarasota Memorial 33 years ago, Dr. Hill established the hospital’s maternal-fetal medicine program, eliminating the need for high-risk patients to be transferred to other cities. Though retired from clinical practice, he continues as a volunteer advocate for what he calls his life’s mission: “safe motherhood.”
Earlier this year, as prenatal waitlists topped 200 women, Dr. Hill rallied community partners and helped spark the creation of the PCT. “These patients will be seen eventually,” he said. “They’ll be seen in the ER, or in labor and delivery with severe complications. Our job is to get to them before they have a problem.”
Dr. Hill is also a longtime advocate for addressing factors that can lead to high-risk pregnancies. He pointed to sobering statistics: black women die in pregnancy at four times the rate of white women. “That is what drives me to do this work,” he said.
He remains hopeful for the future: “We need to make this community a place where every woman feels she can get care, not afraid because of politics, stigma or cost. It’s our business to make that happen, and I’m grateful for the philanthropic support that has propelled our initiative forward.”
Washington Hill, M.D.
Get Involved
Sign up to receive updates about Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation
