With many people seeking to understand, defend policies or debate abortion after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs V. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and the overturning of the 1973 Roe v. Wade, and 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decisions, Watermark Health is seeing how God is using this decision to affirm His mission of caring for people through Watermark Health. We didn’t want to just provide a reactionary response to this hot-button issue but rather share how we’ve been serving amid cultural issues since our first day.
Since opening in 2013, we’ve always had the mission of seeing the church care for the city’s healthcare needs. Over the years, we’ve found unique ways to serve our city’s most vulnerable populations, including mothers in crisis moments and the preborn. In 2021, we added services to provide sonograms and connect women to additional resources.
Reflecting on the last year, Samantha Parsons, the Skillman Urgent Care Clinic Director, speaks on how the Lord has grown this service line to care for the whole woman, not just her preborn child.
“As we serve women in the initial stages of pregnancy, we also get to understand the social, economic, and relational resources that are a challenge, and get to wrap around them with support in those areas,” said Parsons. “The needs of women experiencing unexpected, under-resourced, or under-supported pregnancies can be vast and varied. We find it a privilege to walk side by side with women and families, helping them to navigate complex immigration needs, a medical system in America that may be completely new to them, and social, emotional, family, and relational needs. All of these are done in partnership our local church body (Watermark Community Church) that cares in profound and tangible ways.”
God has provided a diverse range of opportunities to care for women within our scope of early-term prenatal care.
As of 2022, Watermark Health's early-term prenatal care services include:
Confirming pregnancy diagnoses through urine tests & lab work,
Trend human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) levels (the hormone produced during pregnancies) for concerning/inconclusive diagnosis and provide progesterone medication as needed,
Allowing women to see their child through sonograms,
Providing medication and coaching for suffering from nausea,
Conducting prenatal STD screening and treatment as needed,
Facilitating the first round of labs and OBGYN handoff for full-term pregnancy care,
Assist women with miscarriage management,
Treating urgent care women's health needs, primarily UTI’s,
Partnering with six local pregnancy resource centers that refer patients to us for medical services beyond their scope of care.
“In addition to these services, we’re also looking forward to ways we can serve post-abortive women in a time of emotional fragility, including the ability to provide the abortion reversal pill, post-abortive exams, and connect to our church’s post-abortive ministries for care” said Parsons.
“One of the biggest lessons our team has learned this year is that caring for women in early pregnancy provides an opportunity to also come alongside women enduring a pregnancy loss. One of the gaps we’ve seen God open the door for us is to care for women experiencing miscarriage. We deeply care about life, because God gives value to every life, and unfortunately this is an area that is easily, unseen and under-treated,” said Parsons.
When Amanda Marlar was six weeks pregnant, she was experiencing symptoms that had her concerned about a miscarriage. After having a phone conversation with her primary OBGYN, she found out she wouldn’t be able to be seen for another six days. They told her a visit to the Emergency Room would be necessary if her pain increased before her appointment.
“I was on the fence about whether my pain was intense enough or not for an ER visit. Which I was nervous about because my husband and I were facing unemployment. During those moments of fear and physical pain, I called Watermark Urgent Care, and they could see us right away.”
“At the clinic, the nurse and the PA both prayed with me. I could tell they genuinely cared about my baby and me, whether anything could be done to save them or not,” said Marlar. “What a blessing it was to experience that. Then, when the PA confirmed my miscarriage over the phone, she prayed for me again. I’m very thankful for how the staff cared for me during that difficult situation.”