One year. In one way, I can't believe that Fertility Partnership has been open for one year, because the year has flown by. On the other hand, opening this clinic has been a dream of mine for many years, so it feels as if it was the longest year I've ever experienced. No matter what, it's been the most exhilarating and rewarding year of my life, and I am thankful for all the milestones we've achieved this year in partnership with the many patients who chose to come to us for help.
 
Most notably, I am excited that Fertility Partnership patients have given birth to 16 babies, and many more are pregnant. It's humbling and thrilling to think about all the patients I've met in the past year who have believed in our concept of care and trusted us to partner with them. Our patients represent a variety of ethnicities, socioeconomic levels and geographic locations - exactly what we hoped. In assessing the average income of our patients, an independent business development company found a great variation in the income of Fertility Partnership patients. Not only that, but the average income of our patients is within $200 of the average income of St. Louisans. One of my main goals with the clinic was to move high quality infertility care beyond the realm of only the wealthiest, making care accessible to the average person - the fact that we've done that is deeply satisfying.
 
We've also extended our reach throughout the U.S., caring for patients from California to the Carolinas, as far north as Minnesota and south to Texas. We've even had patients come in from overseas, including two patients from Nigeria. And, the sheer variety of ethnicities represented by our patients is exciting to see and represents another major goal achieved for Fertility Partnership.
 
Among the other notable milestones reached in the past year: we've been featured in numerous media outlets including Newsweek.com, CNN Headline News, Oprah Radio, AOL Health and KTVI FOX 2 News; established partnerships with two acupuncturists and a psychotherapist - who offers therapy sessions at a 50 percent discount to Fertility Partnership patients; and increased the number of patients in each cycle so rapidly that we've already had to install two new incubators and expand our staff.  

And, in a truly exciting achievement, our success rates have been significantly above the national average. Although we cannot publish our exact success rates without CDC approval, which won't  be available until 2012, I can say that I am extremely excited about our achievement. I credit this to our stellar staff, who has jelled beautifully and is singularly focused on providing the most compassionate care of the highest possible quality to every patient who walks through our door.

So that's our first year in a nutshell - what a year! Thank you to each and every patient who trusted us to help you achieve your dream of having a baby. We take our commitment to you very seriously and do all we can every single day to make your experience the best it can possibly be. Keep trusting us and keep an eye on us - in 2012 we're going to keep growing while keeping our commitment to providing compassionate, high quality infertility care at an affordable cost.

Comment (0)

Donna Nichols is one of the most courageous and inspiring women you'll ever meet. Here's her story, courtesy of KTVI-TV, about battling the physical and emotional trauma of nine miscarriages before finally giving birth to two beautiful baby boys. Thanks, Donna, for sharing your story and giving hope to many other women dealing with the sorrow of recurrent miscarriage.

Comment (0)