W.Va. hotline to help with high-risk pregnancies - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

W.Va. hotline to help with high-risk pregnancies

  • Saturday, May 25 2013 7:47 PM EDT2013-05-25 23:47:22 GMT
    One man died and another is behind bars Saturday after a son shoots and kills his father at their Overlook Drive home in Stanaford.Raleigh County Sheriff's Deputies said 23-year-old Donald Gray Dunn, Jr.
    One man died and another is behind bars Saturday after a son shoots and kills his father at their Overlook Drive home in Stanaford.Raleigh County Sheriff's Deputies said 23-year-old Donald Gray Dunn, Jr.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -

West Virginia has a new hotline to get women with high-risk pregnancies and their newborns into intensive care beds more quickly.

Public Health Commissioner Marian Swinker announced creation of the prenatal One Call System on Thursday.

Doctors and hospitals have long needed easily accessible, current information about availability in Neonatal Intensive Care Units and maternal high-risk units.

The three hospitals that provide that kind of care are Charleston Area Medical Center's Women and Children's Hospital, West Virginia University Hospital and Cabell Huntington Hospital.

But 25 others that care for mothers and babies often need transfers.

The Office of Emergency Medical Services created the hotline with the West Virginia Prenatal Partnership. Callers can also get consultations with specialists.

The EMS Medical Coordination Center in Flatwoods will operate the hotline at 1-866-893-7266.

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