TO: All Dekalb Women’s Specialists Obstetrical Patients

Dekalb Medical Center has decided to move its Women’s and Infants Services from the DeKalb Medical Center Hillandale Hospital in Lithonia to our premier Women’s Center, At DeKalb Medical Center at North Decatur.

We are excited about the expanded services that we will be able to offer you as a result of this move. These changes are the result of decreased hospital volume coupled with the troubled economy.

This move becomes effective April 17, 2009.

We regret any inconvenience that this may cause you, however we assure you that we will continue to provide a optimum quality of care.

A Successful Grand Opening

The April 25 grand opening of DeKalb Women's Specialists new Stonecrest office was a brilliant success. Despite the never ending threat of rain, festivities continued non-stop throughout the afternoon. It was estimated that over 200 guests were in attendance to celebrate the office opening and to tour the new facilities.

The grand opening was hosted by the providers of DeKalb Women's Specialists: Dr. Albert Scott, Jr, Dr. Kathleen S. Johnson, Dr. Julianne Adams, Dr. Kimberly Coleman-Henderson, Dr. Stacy Reynolds, and CNM Kia Harrison.

Food and fun were the theme of the day, thanks to expertly grilled burgers and dogs, face painting, bounce house, Cuz the Clown, and a live DJ. Visitors were also treated to a personal tour of the office from the providers and hors d'oeuvres catered by Marquita's Events.


Also present to make the event a memorable one were a host of public officials and dignitaries from DeKalb county, including Bishop Gary Hawkins of Voices of Faith Church, DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson, Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit Judge Mark Anthony Scott, DeKalb Medical Center Hillandale Administrator Clay Fowler, and Assistant Administrator Philida Seda. DeKalb County Commisioner Connie Stokes presented Dr. Albert Scott with a proclamation naming April 25, 2008 as DeKalb Women's Specialists Day.

The Stonecrest office is located at 8052 Mall Parkway, Suite 202, Lithonia, GA. The office is open from 8:45 AM to 5:30 PM.

Grand Opening of New Stonecrest Office

DeKalb Women’s Specialists will have a grand opening celebration of our new Stonecrest Mall Office on Saturday, April 26, 2008 from 1pm until 5pm. Our state-of-the- art office will be dedicated by Bishop Gary Hawkins of Voices of Faith Church. Come out for our special day and enjoy children’s activities, food and beverages and find out more about what services we have to offer you.

The new Stonecrest Mall address is:

DeKalb Women's Specialists
8052 Mall Parkway
Suite 202
Lithonia, GA 30038

Come preview the new office and enjoy the food and activities. Dr. Albert Scott, Jr., Dr. Kathleen S. Johnson, Dr. Julianne Adams, Dr. Kimberly Coleman-Henderson, Dr. Stacy Reynolds, and Midwife Kia Harrison will be present to meet you and answer your questions.

The Decatur office will continue to deliver the quality service you expect.

When You No-Show

DeKalb Women’s Specialists eagerly anticipates the arrival of our patients for their appointments. In an effort to ensure that our patients keep their appointments, we give a courtesy call to all patients two days in advance. A two-day notice enables patients who have forgotten about their appointments to make work and childcare arrangements.

Although a courtesy call is made, the patient is ultimately responsible for keeping her appointment. When a patient no-shows and does not contact the office in advance, other patients miss the opportunity to see the provider. We all have experienced the frustration of not being able to see the doctor when we need to!

You, the patient, can help us improve the customer service we extend to other patients (a courtesy from which you, too, will benefit) by contacting us 24 hours before your appointment if you must cancel.

Heavy Cycles - Consider Your Options

Heavy menstrual periods. Can you relate? For some of you, it has been a cross borne since your teens. For others, it started after having children or even later in life. Sometimes, women have a difficult time determining what’s “okay” in terms of heavy periods. Often when I see women for their “Well Woman” exams, it’s only after asking very pointed questions that I find out about very heavy bleeding with periods.

Here are a few ways to determine if your periods require evaluation:

• Bleeding lasting for more than 7 days
• Wearing dark clothes during your period to conceal “accidents”
• “Doubling up” on pads/tampons
• Fatigue during your period
• Planning your social or work activities around your periods
• Waking at night to change pads/tampons
• Anemia found on a routine physical

Any of these may indicate that what you thought were just heavy menstrual cycles may actually be a condition called menorrhagia. Menorrhagia is defined as the loss of more than 80 milliliters (2½ ounces) of blood loss during an entire period or having periods that last longer than 7 days. Since it is generally difficult to measure exactly how many milliliters of bleeding someone has during a period, the above checklist is helpful in determining if this condition exists.

Sometimes there is no obvious cause for menorrhagia, but there are several things that a doctor will need to rule out. Menorrhagia may be caused by a variety of conditions such as tumors (uterine fibroids), growths inside the uterus (polyps) and an overabundance of uterine glands in the muscle of the uterus (adenomyosis). Less common causes include uterine cancer and diseases where the blood doesn’t clot well.

Treatment options can be considered only after a thorough evaluation of menorrhagia has been performed. In the past, the only available options were birth control pills and, if the pills failed, hysterectomy. Today, there are simple procedures that can significantly reduce the volume of bleeding during periods. These procedures all fall under the general term “Endometrial Ablation”. Sometimes they can eliminate periods altogether. Remember, in this case the absence of periods is due to the treatment. Endometrial ablation does not cause early menopause or affect your ovarian hormones. The endometrium is the lining in the uterine cavity that sheds as a period every month. Ablation is surgical removal. Endometrial ablations are typically very quick procedures lasting no longer than 20 minutes and with recovery times usually 1-3 days. They generally have minimal associated pain and some types of ablation can even be done in a gynecologist’s office with minimal sedation.

Menorrhagia can be a very debilitating condition that is often overlooked. In order for it to get the attention it deserves, the first step is yours. Schedule an appointment with your gynecologist to discuss it today

Moving Forward with EMR

After months of anticipation, DeKalb Women’s Specialists has implemented electronic medical records (EMR) in both locations.

EMR is the wave of the future, as paper charts will no longer be used, and providers and supporting staff members will be able to access patient information quickly and efficiently. Patients will also see more timely feedback regarding test results, as EMR automates automates the processing of lab information. EMR will also enable the practice to mass distribute vital information to patients through the use of e-mail.

Dr. Scott Leads DMC to the Future

Dr. Albert Scott has served as DeKalb Medical Center at Decatur’s Chief of Staff for the past two years.

During his tenure, Dr. Scott has participated in positive changes for the hospital, such as the opening of the new digital hospital at Hillandale and the women’s tower at Decatur. Dr. Scott’s contribution to DeKalb Medical Center will continue, as he will soon undertake the role as Chief of Information Systems.

Dr. Scott has over 15 years of experience in various leadership and community roles. He has served as the president of the Atlanta OB/GYN Society, Chief of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at DeKalb Medical Center, a member of the DeKalb County Hospital Authority Board, and Vice Chief of Staff.

Current and prospective patients of Dr. Scott, one of Atlanta Magazine’s named “Top Docs”, can enjoy personable, consultative care and benefit from his expertise in the areas of normal and high risk obstetrics, hysterectomy alternatives, and natural alternatives to PMS and menopause.