Earlier this month, in between his seeing patients, the Icon chatted with Dr. Robert Schutz, M.D., of Bluffton Women’s Care.
Because he is a Schutz with family connections to Pandora, our conversation naturally jumped from babies to potato farming and his Pandora aunts and uncles Oliver, Art, Mary and Sara.
Discovering that family information answered our first question without having to ask: “What’s a obstetrics and gynecological-trained physician doing in a small town?’
So, we jumped to question two: “How many babies have you delivered and are all deliveries different?” Dr. Schutz smiled, put his hands behind his head, leaned back, and offered some personal statistics.
“Between 4,500 and 5,000 deliveries in 32 years. And, every delivery is different, even with the same woman.”
“There’s so many factors involved in each birth,” he said, explaining that variables range from the length of labor to the position of the baby, for starters.
Adding – and, predicting our next question – “No, I can’t predict if a baby will be a male or female, although I know some midwives who are very good at predictions.”
To our, “when do most births take place?” Dr. Schutz said, “Any hour of the day. We seem to see many in the early morning hours and in the early evening.”
Dr. Schutz, who grew up in Findlay, said that he knew in high school that the medical practice was in future.
“When I entered medical school I kept my options open,” he said. “Obstetrics pulled me in. It is a unique field of medicine.”
You can see Bluffton Hospital from Dr. Schutz’s office. It’s across the street from the 559 Harmon Road office. Bluffton Women’s Care is part of Blanchard Valley Medical Practices.
The practice provides care for women from juvenile on up. Most patients are teens to ages 35 or 40.
In 2017 Bluffton Women’s Care recorded 11,500 total patient visits. Those patients are drawn from Findlay, Tiffin, Upper Sandusky, Lima, Ottawa, Pandora and Ada, as well as Bluffton.
As for a medical niche, Dr. Schutz says, “Our patients will meet with the provider who will deliver the birth.” That’s different from many practices where pregnant women may see several health professionals in the same medical practice leading up to the delivery. In those practices, the delivering physician may be someone the mother has not yet met.
Bluffton Women’s Care involves much more than baby delivery. It provides annual exams, obstetrical and gynecological care, and treatment for menstrual disorders, menopausal problems, and infertility and bladder issues.
In-office procedures include ultrasound, biopsies and uterine ablation.
With Dr. Schutz, Bluffton Women’s Care medical staff includes Dr. Molly Senokozlieff, M.D., who joined the practice earlier this month. Also on staff is Sarah Howe, certified nurse practitioner (CNP), and Melissa Moore, certified nurse midwife (CNM).
The practice is accepting new patients. To schedule an appointment call 419-358-8856.
Photo:
Chaimi Vaughn, office supervisor; Melissa Moore, certified nurse midwife; Dr. Schutz; and Dr. Molly. Absent is Sarah Howe, certified nurse practitioner.
