At 37, obstetrician-gynecologist Elizabeth Flodin, DO, is Lehigh Valley Health Network’s (LVHN) first female Chief of Gynecology. She grew up in Chittenango, New York, outside Syracuse. And after completing her residency at LVHN, she has remained a vital part of the obstetrics and gynecology department. While the current coronavirus pandemic has changed the lives of many, she has remained dedicated to treating and delivering exceptional care to her patients.
This is her story.
How did you know you wanted to become an OB-GYN?
I actually thought I wanted to be a pediatrician. I love children, but I did my clinical rotations in OB-GYN in a small hospital outside of Pittsburgh. I got to be the first assistant at all the surgeries and see some amazing C-sections and other operating room gynecologic experiences. I just loved the variety and the excitement of the field. And I came to LVHN for my residency in 2010.
What is it like to be LVHN’s first female Chief of Gynecology?
I accepted the role in April 2019, and it was such an honor. I graduated from my residency with LVHN in 2013, and I had so much passion and experience with the department. Getting this opportunity has been amazing. One of the first things I implemented last fall was our enhanced recovery after surgery program for benign gynecology, something that colorectal and general surgery have been doing for a while. It shows patients have a better outcome after surgery, so I put the protocol in line for us soon after I started because I knew it was important. I’m one of the robotic surgeons, so I do more complicated hysterectomies with fibroids or endometriosis, endometrial ablations, polypectomies and miscarriages.
How has the coronavirus pandemic changed your job?
Time management has always been one of my strong points. I was doing virtual visits from my basement with my 1-year-old daughter Harper, upstairs singing Frozen. It was definitely challenging! But I would try to do work from 7 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m., finish up and have family time until she went to bed, and then get right back at it from 8 p.m. until 11 p.m. or midnight. It is new grounds for everyone. Our supplies department did an amazing job as far as acquiring PPE for us. We were doing video visits during the peak times in April and May, and rotating schedules for patient-facing care in labor and delivery. Our nurses and operating room (OR) surgery nurses did an amazing job through this. We had to reschedule surgeries, and once the OR opened back up we had as a network 4,000 patients that needed to be rescheduled. The teamwork going through this has been unprecedented.
How are you keeping OB-GYN patients safe right now?
At this point we have multiple safety measures in place as far as just within our office alone. Our patients are screened for COVID symptoms with phone calls before their appointments, temperature checks, and doing check-ins from their cars so we don't have a lot of patients waiting in the waiting room. We're only allowing one person to come with people to limit exposure and volume. We have lots of safety measures that we are implementing now to keep them safe, and we want them to be coming in for their visits. Preventive medicine is my love. And if you put something off, it's going to be 10 times harder to take care of or treat something than it is to prevent it.
What has it been like to treat expecting women during this pandemic?
The earlier data shows that with pregnant women it’s similar to the flu in that it doesn't cause any congenital anomalies. I believe that there was only one case in millions that might have crossed the placenta. So we know that it doesn't cause any congenital defects. We have had some women with respiratory infections caused by the coronavirus that needed to be intubated in the ICU, but those women are usually asthmatic. So whenever I do see a new patient for her OB visit and she is asthmatic, I usually give her extra precautions. Everyone should be wearing masks if you’re going outside and practicing good hand hygiene and trying to social distance. And if you're pregnant, you definitely should not be going to barbecues or large social gatherings.
As a mom throughout this, how have you been able to stay strong and healthy?
I try to leave work at work. When I’m at home, I spend time with Harper and my husband, Jared. On the weekends, we do 24-hour shifts in labor and delivery. Before COVID, they used to come and visit me at the hospital, but now we FaceTime when I’m there. But when I’m home, my daughter is stuck to me like glue.
How has becoming a mom changed you as an OB-GYN?
I have so much empathy for my patients. You don't understand the anxiety of becoming a mother until you're a mother yourself. I have a lot of patients who come to me that are pregnant and ask, ‘When is a gestational age or a time in my pregnancy that you can say everything's gonna be OK?’ And I understand the anxieties that go into being pregnant and also into becoming a mom, because it is real!
Fitness is also a huge part of your life. How has that helped you stay strong?
I’ve been an athlete pretty much my whole life. I grew up playing soccer and running. I played soccer in college, but when I went to medical school I got really out of shape. So I started to train for my first half marathon and vowed to never let myself get out of shape like that again! I ran my first half the same year, and I started doing more running. I did my first full marathon my fourth year of medical school. And during my residency I did five full marathons, including the Boston Marathon in 2012. After residency I had more time, I also started doing triathlons. I have done two full Ironmans and four half Ironmans. I did my second full Ironman while Harper was still under a year old. We were blessed with a baby that slept! I'd get up super early and do a bike ride while she was still sleeping so I wouldn't be missing too much of her, and then I would do 8-mile runs with her in the stroller. I started doing CrossFit, and I did that until all the gyms recently shut down. My gym is open now, but I don't feel comfortable going back yet. We have a treadmill, and in June we bought a Peloton and got some weights, so I’m grateful. But like everyone right now during quarantine, there is a lack of motivation for sure! There aren’t any races to train for right now, and that’s usually my motivation. But we also enjoy skiing and mountain biking.
What do you enjoy most about your job as an OB-GYN?
I love the variety of it. I love being in the operating room, and I love being on labor and delivery and delivering babies. I've been doing this for 10+ years including residency at this point, and I still love it.
Lehigh Valley Health Network | lvhn.org
This post is a sponsored collaboration between Lehigh Valley Health Network and Lehigh Valley Style.
