Fetal Concerns Center set to open by May inside CHW: 'Care for mom and baby at 1 location'



WAUWATOSA -- Big things are happening behind closed doors at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.

“We are in the middle of building a brand new center for women who are pregnant with a high-risk pregnancy," said Kristi Rapp, program director for the Fetal Concerns Center.

Since it was founded in the year 2000, the Fetal Concerns Center has been a national leader in care during pregnancy and after birth. It’s one of a handful of places in the country capable of performing in-utero surgeries on a fetus.

Fetal Concerns Center



Kristi Rapp



“We’re the only center of this kind in Wisconsin," Rapp said. "In terms of what’s here in the Midwest, we are the only center that can provide the care that we provide here."

The Fetal Concerns Center has seen a 45 percent increase in patients over the last four years, and to better meet that demand, construction started in December on a new location that should open to patients at the beginning of May.

“I think the biggest difference is the size," Rapp said. "We’re moving from about 2,000 square feet to just under 8,000 square feet, so we’ll have more ultrasound rooms, more consult space, which will allow us to provide more streamlined care for our patients.”

Another change, proximity. The Fetal Concerns Center currently resides next door to Children’s in Froedtert Hospital, but the new space occupies prime real estate at Children’s, just up the steps from the main lobby.

Fetal Concerns Center



Children's Hospital of Wisconsin



“Care for mom and baby can be all at one location," Rapp explained. "When baby is in NICU, if mom delivers here they are just a hallway away, so it’s not having to take an ambulance to a different hospital to go and visit baby.”

They will continue to provide world-class care -- soon under one roof.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the Fetal Concerns Center at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.