Einstein OBGYN Newsletter IS4 Spring 2022

OB/GYN Updates
ISSUE FOUR | SPRING 2022
New Collaboration Improving
Outcomes for Parents and Babies
Sometimes, it’s not enough to provide quality obstetric care. It’s a
fact that Einstein’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology knows
all too well. For many expecting patients, insurance, scheduling, and
transportation issues can all be seemingly insurmountable barriers to
prenatal care.
Now, through a new collaboration with Cayaba Care, Einstein’s
OB/GYN department is helping ensure expectant patients can
access the healthcare and social supports necessary to maintain
a healthy pregnancy.
Focused on bridging gaps in maternity care, Cayaba Care is a
Philadelphia-based company addressing the needs of women
experiencing social and health inequities. Its services include care
coordination, benefit sign-up, breastfeeding support, and patient
education. Cayaba Care uses technology to improve access to
healthcare, identify timely interventions, and improve overall
health outcomes.
“Cayaba Care provides a multidisciplinary support team for patients
through all stages of pregnancy and birth,” says Olan Soremekun,
MD, MBA, CEO and Co-Founder of Cayaba Care. “We are experts in
providing maternity support services to improve outcomes.”
continued on page 2
Cayaba Care team
members in the
community. Pictured
(from left) Victoria
B., Lead Maternity
Navigator, Juana
D., Patient Care
Coordinator, and
Lilibeth M., Clinical
Assistant.
Message from
Dr. Jaspan
Perhaps the most exciting
news of the past several
months is the completion
of the merger between
Jefferson Health and
Einstein Healthcare
Network. While these
endeavors can bring
uncertainty and change,
we are excited by the
tremendous opportunities this merger presents
for our residency program.
First, the merger creates opportunities for didactic
learning by expanding the number of training
sites to four. These include Abington Hospital,
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Einstein
Medical Center Philadelphia, and Jefferson New
Jersey. Additionally, through our organizations’
shared resources, we can enhance learning
opportunities for our residents, so we better meet
the needs of our patients.
One highlight of the agreement is it allows our
residency program to maintain its individuality.
Our residents will continue to train on our
campus. Additionally, the merger will provide
financial stability for Einstein’s hospitals so we
can continue to educate our residents, provide
advocacy, care for our patients, and maintain our
strong community ties.
Finally, as part of Jefferson’s expanded network,
Einstein will continue to attract quality residents
and clinicians from noteworthy institutions who
have a passion for advancing the care and rights
of women within underserved communities.
We’re energized by this next chapter in Einstein’s
history and are looking forward to continuing our
proud tradition of excellence in obstetric and
gynecologic care and training. If you have any
questions about this merger or just want to reach
out to chat, I would love to hear from you.
Warmly,
David Jaspan, DO, FACOOG
Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Einstein Healthcare Network
215-456-8438 | JaspanD@Einstein.edu

continued from page 1
New Collaboration Improving
Outcomes for Parents and Babies
“Our obstetric practices provide exceptional
care to patients who are able to make it into our
offices,” says department Chair David Jaspan,
DO, FACOOG. “But sometimes patients miss
appointments for reasons that are beyond anyone’s
control. This collaboration with Cayaba Care
provides our patients with social support while
helping to access Einstein’s quality medical care.”
A Model that’s Working
Rather than waiting for the patient to make the first
move, Einstein provides Cayaba Care with a list
of all Emergency Room (ER) patients who have
received a positive pregnancy test. A Cayaba Care
maternity navigator then calls each patient as a
follow-up. No questions are asked about the ER
visit. The purpose of this call is to solely provide the
patient with a single point of contact for emotional,
financial, social service, and logistical support.
Navigators offer help with scheduling follow-up
appointments, finding financial resources, dealing
with insurance issues, arranging transportation, and
providing mental health support. They can even
make in-home visits when necessary.
“We meet patients where they are and membership
is entirely free,” says Dr. Soremekun. “Providing
support in under-resourced communities leads to
better outcomes and less burden on the healthcare
system. Cayaba Care members with three visits
from their maternity navigator are ten times less
likely to return to the ER. Healthy moms and babies
—that’s our goal.”
Einstein began a small pilot program with Cayaba
Care last year and is currently working to expand
the collaboration.
“We want to change the paradigm of how we think
about insurance companies and healthcare,” says
Dr. Jaspan. “Insurance companies and providers
should partner to provide optimal care for patients.
Cayaba Care provides patients with a link to these
resources.”
Cayaba Care navigators are local members of the
community who are specially trained in healthcare
for maternity. They are medical assistants, doulas,
lactation consultants, social workers, and mental
health workers. There are also clinical nurse
practitioners on staff.
“We’ve had glowing reviews about how empathetic,
relatable, engaging, and graceful our maternity
navigators are in dealing with difficult situations,”
says Dr. Soremekun. “It’s a win-win-win for patients,
Einstein and the community.”
Creating an Inclusive Labor
and Delivery Department
Providing parents and newborns
with top quality care in a safe,
comfortable environment is the
primary goal of Einstein’s Labor
and Delivery Department. So
when resident Kayla Dobson, MD,
saw a disconnect in care for a
transgender patient, she decided
to do something about it.
“We had a transgender male
patient in the unit,” says
Dr. Dobson. “It’s not something
we have seen very frequently,
so there was a lot of discussion
around making sure he was
cared for appropriately. It was
also around this time the state
Kayla Dobson, MD, is working to
create an inclusive environment
for expectant parents.
department was making changes to their birth information forms
to be more inclusive of all genders and types of parents.”
Dr. Dobson, along with Nurse Manager Jane Lodise, MSN, RNC,
MNN, CBC, and Pride Program Manager Landes Blythe, MSW,
LSW, set out to bring more inclusivity to inpatient obstetric care
by seeking guidance from Einstein’s Pride Program, a systemwide
initiative to educate about and promote a safe environment
of care to members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
“The Pride Program started within the OB/GYN department in
2015 and has since become a stand-alone program,” says
Dr. Dobson. “We thought it would be beneficial to springboard
from the basic tenets of the program and bring it back to our
department, especially for our inpatient population.”
The first item on the list was changing the language used
throughout the unit to make the environment inclusive to
all patients.
“Our ante-partum and post-partum unit was previously called
the Mother-Baby unit and we realized it may not be inclusive
language,” says Dr. Dobson. “We’re now renaming the unit to
the Perinatal-Newborn unit. We’re also changing verbiage on our
whiteboards and medical forms to be inclusive of all patients.”
In addition to updating the terminology used throughout
the department, the group identified staff education as a
vital component of the Pride Program process. It’s currently
brainstorming ways to best educate everyone working in the
department. Some ideas include doing grand rounds, bringing in
guest speakers and providing panel discussions with experts.
“All these projects, from changing our posters and
documentation to providing ongoing educational modules,
require funding,” says Dr. Dobson. “We have received some
seed grant funding from the Albert Einstein Society for research
on the education of providers, but the initiative within the Labor
and Delivery Department isn’t currently funded by anyone.
Ultimately that would be our goal and would be very useful.”
2
Connect with over 7,000 Einstein resident alum by registering with Einstein Alumni
Connect — Einstein’s new alumni networking tool.
Visit the site at alumni.einstein.edu. Alumni Pride t-shirts for first 200 who register.

Dr. Jay Goldberg: Inspiring Others Through His Love of Research
A key benefit of the OB/GYN Residency at Einstein
Healthcare Network is its residents are heavily
involved in research. In fact, they are often the most
prolific research presenters at national ACOG and
ACOOG meetings.
“It’s impressive to me that despite their really heavy
clinical load—our OB/GYN Residency is one of the
hardest—our residents still dedicate their time to doing
these research projects and with great success,”
says Jay Goldberg, MD, Vice Chair of Obstetrics and
Gynecology at Einstein and the department’s Director
of Research.
In his 24 years as an attending physician, Dr. Goldberg
has conducted research in many different areas and
is genuinely excited to organize and promote research
among the residents—though he is very humble when
speaking about his role in the department.
“I’m just somebody who enjoys putting research projects
together and involving the residents,” says Dr. Goldberg.
“I try to come up with ideas and get them involved. Sometimes
I help match the residents with research projects being done
by other attendings, and other times I help residents develop
and pursue their own ideas. Exposing residents to research is
an important part of helping them build their CVs to match into
fellowships and secure good jobs in the future.”
Dr. Goldberg credits department Chair Dr. David Jaspan
and Einstein itself with the success of the resident’s
research efforts.
“Our success is due to the support of Dr. Jaspan, who
encourages resident involvement and allows them to present
at meetings when they are accepted,” says Dr. Goldberg.
“Einstein is also very pro-research. They’ve established a
fund to provide residents with funding to attend national
meetings to present their accepted projects.”
In addition, Dr. Goldberg praises Chase White, MD as “a
statistical genius” who does most of the statistical analysis for
the resident’s research projects and Einstein epidemiologist and
statistician Andrew Paoletti who works on many of the projects.
Dr. Jay Goldberg loves putting research projects together and getting residents
involved. Pictured from left Dr. Lisa Berkowitz, Dr. Kayla Dobson, Dr. Julia Ellis-
Kahana, and Dr. Goldberg.
Dr. Goldberg also sees the opportunities for research within
the department expanding with the addition of two new
attending physicians in the Departments of Family Planning
and Minimally Invasive Surgery.
“These young physicians, who are recently out of training,
bring fresh ideas for research projects to develop and offer
added opportunities for residents to jump in,” explains
Dr. Goldberg. “They also serve as additional mentors for
the residents.”
Dr. Goldberg speaks proudly of the residents and their
research accomplishments. During the pandemic, Einstein
OB/GYN residents had multiple publications in peer reviewed
literature. Drs. Sean Cronin, Emily Dubelbuis, and Kayla
Dobson were each able to publish a paper on a COVID topic.
He also mentions Dr. Laura Deal and her “Decision to
Incision” project which looked at the success in initiating
urgent c-sections within 30 minutes.
“The project won first prize at the ACOG District 3 meeting,”
says Dr. Goldberg. “Dr. Deal will also be presenting it at the
ACOOG Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas.”
Origins of Endometrial Cancer: A Study
Sean Cronin, MD, is on a mission:
to better understand the origins of
endometrial cancer. It’s a pursuit he
began while working with Jay Goldberg,
MD, Vice Chair of Obstetrics and
Gynecology, and OB/GYN attending
Chase White, MD, as part of his OB/
GYN Residency at Einstein Healthcare
Network.
“Microbiota of the endometrium is a
topic that really sparked my interest
when I first began doing research at
Einstein,” says Dr. Cronin. “There’s
a lot we don’t know about its role in
endometrial cancer and I’m eager to
see what I can uncover.”
In May 2021, while a resident at
Einstein, Dr. Cronin developed a
hypothesis for an exploratory study
examining the endometrial microbiome
of patients with and without endometrial
cancer. As a newly hired physician
practicing at Einstein OB/GYN
Associates, Dr. Cronin submitted his
idea in September and is now diving
into the study.
“The goal is to determine if there is
a difference between endometrial
microbiota in patients with endometrial
cancer versus patients without
endometrial cancer,” says Dr. Cronin.
“The microbiome is very interesting
and we’re still learning about its role in
health and disease.
“We’re looking to gain a better
understanding about causation for
disease,” he continues. “We know
excess estrogen plays a significant
role in endometrial cancer, but not all
women with excess estrogen develop
continued on page 4
OBGYN Updates | Spring 2022 | 3

Einstein Healthcare Network
Office of Development
Braemer Education Building
5501 Old York Road | Philadelphia, PA 19141
Have exciting news to share?
Want to keep up with fellow Einstein
alumni? Or need to send us your updated
contact information?
Please drop a note to Fran Gress, Manager
of Annual Fund and Alumni Relations at
gressfra@einstein.edu or call 215-456-6278
or visit advance.einstein.edu/alumni.
continued from page 3
Origins of Endometrial Cancer: A Study
endometrial cancer. We’re hoping to see if there
are other contributing factors to determine why
some are affected, while others are not and to
determine who is at risk.”
Through a generous grant from Einstein’s
Department of OB/GYN, Dr. Cronin was able
to purchase one hundred endometrial cancer
patient samples and 30 control samples from
the tissue bank at Fox Chase Cancer Center. He
is currently in the process of identifying viable
samples to use in the study.
“The internal uterus was once considered a
sterile environment,” says Dr. Cronin. “Now we
know there is a bacterial presence. I’m looking to
see if areas can be identified through a bacterial
signature that indicates an abnormality. This may
give us insight to the causation of endometrial
cancer.”
Fortunately, Dr. Cronin explains, endometrial
cancer is often caught early as post-menopausal
women who experience bleeding are relatively
quick to see their OB/GYN for diagnostic testing.
However, there is no current screening for
endometrial cancer.
Over the coming months, Dr. Cronin will be
collecting, analyzing, and sifting through the data
to identify potential microbiome abnormalities.
“I find the microbiome very interesting and
there isn’t a lot of information out there on the
topic,” says Dr. Cronin. “I hope to move the topic
forward through my research.”
Sean Cronin, MD
Supporting Einstein Healthcare
Network’s OB/GYN Residency Program
Gifts to support Einstein Healthcare Network’s OB/GYN Residency
Program directly impact the training and well-being of our residents.
You may make your tax-deductible gift to the Arnold Cohen, MD Research
Fund for OB/GYN at advance.einstein.edu or by calling 215-456-6278.
Office of Development
Braemer Education Building
5501 Old York Road
Philadelphia, PA 19141
advance.einstein.edu/alumni
4 | Spring 2022 | OBGYN Updates