Southern Arizona Laborists
- About Us
Redesigning the Future of
Women’s Health
Our Management
About Us
Why We Do What We Do
At Southern Arizona Laborists, our mission is to make a meaningful difference in the care, treatment and health of women. In the United States, approximantely two women die every day due to complications associated with childbirth and even more experience short and long-term health problems after giving birth. We firmly believe that there is a better and safer way to deliver care. We want to ensure women have access to specialized care within minutes of arriving at a hospital. We want the care coordination to be expert and efficient. Through our innovative approach to care, we know that it’s not only possible, it’s proven that we can reduce the number of unnecessary deaths and improve women’s health.
Women’s health is complex and poorly understood. Under a traditional model of emergency care, there is often a knowledge deficit and as a result, women experience varied levels of care. Compounding this disparity are the growing risks created by assisted pregancies, women waiting until later in life to have children, obesity and drug abuse. It’s essential to have board-certified experts in obstetrics and gynecology to provide emergency care and it’s critical that women have access to specialized care quickly. In the event there is a fetal emergency, minutes matter.
At Southern Arizona Laborists, all of our physicians are board certified and have a demonstrated track record of excellence, a commitment to compassionate care and an unwavering adherence to the highest standards of patient safety. Our specialized training enables them to identify and treat women’s health issues as quickly as possible with unparalleled expertise.
Southern Arizona Laborists
Our Management Team
Elizabeth Weisert, MD, FACOG
Founder
Meet Our Founder, Dr. Elizabeth Weisert
Founder and Medical Director of Southern Arizona Laborists, Dr. Elizabeth Weisert is described by her team as a visionary with intense drive and limitless compassion for her patients and colleagues. As one of eight children, Dr. Weisert heard some dramatic birth stories from her mother and came to appreciate the vital role of specialists in treating women’s health issues and pregnancies. The idea of creating a team of highly trained OBGYN doctors to provide a consistently high standard of care for moms and babies motivated Dr. Weisert to form Southern Arizona Laborists in 2010.
“We deliver expert care one patient at a time. This is how healthcare should be delivered. It’s a standard that should never be lowered. My vision is to see a Women’s Health Emergency Center in every large community across the country ensuring that a team of doctors is standing by 24 hours a day with expertise in pregancy and women’s health.”
Dr. Weisert expanded the vision for Southern Arizona Laborists in 2017 when, serving as the Chair of an interdisciplinary peer review committee, she realized there was a growing deficit in knowledge of how to treat women’s unique healthcare issues. Out of necessity to ensure the best patient outcomes and to relieve already over burdened hospital Emergency Rooms, Southern Arizona Laborsists established Arizona’s first Women’s Health Emergency Center (WHEC). The program represents a new standard for specialized women’s care.
Business Development, Kim Rehling
With over 25 years of health care service in multiple facets including direct patient care, clinical standard of care, middle management, nursing administration, project management, clinical operations, and business development. Kim brought to the company a solid background in leading individuals, teams, and projects through planning, developing, and implementing new services, improving existing services, and growing strategic partnerships.
My passion for providing world class healthcare is fueled by seeing how not just the patient that I care for individually could be impacted but how every patient within a system of care could be impacted.
“At Southern Arizona Laborists, we believe our model of care could be pivotal in the reduction of maternal morbidity and mortality. This work led to the opportunity for me to serve on the national AWHONN Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Task Force and to present our outcomes on a national level.”
In the early days of process improvement, I learned a valuable lessons. Not every nurse or provider wants to embrace the latest evidence. Everyone may navigate change at a different pace. If I wanted to be a change agent, I needed to figure out how to lead through the process, engaging key stakeholders at every level in not only achieving a goal but in determining the goal. These skills have proven to be invaluable as I have been able to successfully lead many process changes since then, including opening our first Women’s Health Emergency Center.
I have a passion for the care of families and those I serve. I am dedicated to achieving high quality, being innovative, developing others; all while being fiscally accountable and achieving strategic targets.
I am committed to excellence and ensuring families have equitable, efficient, and expert care every time. My personal professional mission is to practice the art and science of nursing so as to serve the people, to care for patients and their families and to develop meaningful relationships, thus achieving greatness in all aspects of caring. At Southern Arizona Laborists, I am able to live this mission every day and be a part of achieving our company mission of delivering expert care, one patient at a time.
Kim Rehling, MSN, WHNP, RN, C-EFM
Vice President of Clinical Operations and Business Development
Duanne Secker, RN, BSN.
Clinical Coordinator
Clinical Coordinator, Duanne Secker
From a young age, I’ve always had a passion for a career in nursing. This passion allowed me to focus all my energy on learning how to be an empathetic and team-oriented nurse for the last 10 years.
I began my nursing journey in a very busy Medical Surgical unit where I was previously a PCT during school. Here I had to learn to juggle high acuity patients’ stressors and turn them into positive experiences for my patients and their family members.
From these experiences I was able to transition into a highly sought-after nurse which led me to my dream job in Labor and Delivery. The maternal/fetal process is fascinating, complex, and beautiful. This hands-on experience in women’s health made me realize the need for more high quality care available to women in both large cities and rural settings. During my career, I’ve had the opportunity to help lead the implementation of a Women’s ED and programs to improve patient outcomes.
After leaving bedside nursing with 9 years experience, that passion is still strong and I am proud to be part of Southern Arizona Laborists to help continue our mission to make a meaningful difference in the care, treatment and health of women.
"At Southern Arizona Laborists, we realize the ever-increasing importance of delivering high quality care in our communities, both large and small. I am proud to be part of an organization that promotes and advances the health and welfare of women by delivering expert care one patient at a time."