“I just feel very comfortable with my doctor, the nurses are wonderful and the maternity unit is very nice.”
Spring 2020 was already a stressful and worrisome time with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. But Chelsea Dezendorf had another lifechanging event to think about: the upcoming birth of her first child.
“My son was a COVID baby, born April 19, 2020,” says Chelsea, 31, of Lacey Township. The thought of giving birth during a deadly virus outbreak had been frightening, she says. But she knew she was in good hands delivering her baby at Community Medical Center (CMC). She not only has worked at the hospital for 11 years, currently in the operating room billing department, but also was born at CMC along with all three of her sisters.
Her experience giving birth during a particularly challenging period for hospitals only cemented her commitment to having her second child at CMC two years later. “I just feel very comfortable with my doctor, the nurses are wonderful and the maternity unit is very nice,” Chelsea says.
Pandemic Delivery
When Chelsea’s contractions started becoming more regular and closer together the evening of April 18, 2020, she called Lauren Mason Cederberg, MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist with the Ocean Women’s Health Care Group, a practice of the Combined Medical Group of RWJBarnabas Health (RWJBH) and Rutgers Health that is affiliated with CMC.
Dr. Mason Cederberg cautioned Chelsea that normal maternity care had been disrupted due to emergency pandemic measures in place to protect patients and staff. “She said, ‘You can’t really walk around, so labor at home as long as you can, and when your contractions take your breath away, give me a call,’” says Chelsea.
By 5:30 a.m. the next day, it was time to head to CMC for delivery. “We came through the ER because it was so early,” Chelsea remembers. She halfway wondered if she should go back home and have the baby there. But she already was eight centimeters dilated, and there could be no delay.
Chelsea was rushed to the delivery room. “Dr. Mason Cederberg broke my water, and I had my son, Weston, within an hour,” she says, grateful that her significant other was allowed to be with her in the delivery room for the birth.
The hospital was working hard to give patients necessary care while minimizing the risk of getting sick with the spreading virus, Dr. Mason Cederberg says. “At CMC we are always equipped to deal with high-risk situations at any moment, and this was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic,” she says. “I couldn’t be any prouder of how the entire hospital came together to give each and every patient top-notch care.”
Healthy Moms and Babies
After one night in the hospital, Chelsea and her baby were released the next evening to recover comfortably at home, away from the threat of potential hospital-acquired viral infection.
When Chelsea had her second child, a girl, Vanessa, on August 25, 2022, Dr. Mason Cederberg induced delivery, and again all went well. This time, Chelsea appreciated that the easing of certain pandemic restrictions allowed her to stay an extra night in the hospital to rest and recover. “Dr. Mason Cederberg is wonderful,” Chelsea says. “She’s very compassionate.”
Dr. Mason Cederberg says she loves helping families bring their babies into the world. “Our goal is for patients to always have a beautiful experience, with the results being a healthy mom and a healthy baby,” she says. “Chelsea had beautiful deliveries, and as with all of my patients, it was an honor for me to be a part of her special days.”
Nationally Recognized for Women's Services
Community Medical Center (CMC) has earned all three Women’s Care Excellence Awards from Healthgrades, which offers data-based ratings of health care providers. CMC is one of only 17 hospitals nationwide to receive all three honors in 2022.
Healthgrades’ Obstetrics and Gynecology Excellence Award, Labor and Delivery Excellence Award and Gynecologic Surgery Excellence Award, along with 5-Star Recipient Awards, recognize CMC’s superior care for women during labor and delivery and gynecologic procedures. The hospital placed among the top 5 percent of hospitals evaluated for labor and delivery and gynecologic surgery, and among the top 10 percent evaluated for obstetrics and gynecology.
This is the second year in a row that CMC has earned Healthgrades excellence awards for obstetrics and gynecology, the fifth year in a row for labor and delivery and the sixth year for gynecologic surgery.
CMC is also a 5-Star Recipient for Vaginal Delivery for the seventh year in a row, a 5-Star Recipient for C-Section Delivery for the seventh year in a row and a 5-Star Recipient for Hysterectomy for the sixth year in a row. Healthgrades data show that 5-Star Recipient hospitals have significantly lower risks of complications than 1-Star hospitals.
Features of Maternity Care
Community Medical Center delivers over 2,000 babies a year. Maternity services include:
- Board-certified obstetricians, neonatologists and anesthesiologists
- Certified midwives
- A Level 2 Special Care Nursery
- Skilled nursing staff
- Anesthesiology and neonatology services available 24/7
- Private labor/delivery/recovery rooms with homelike features
Learn more about maternity services at Community Medical Center.