ASHTABULA — The Ashtabula County Medical Center announces the addition of two new arrivals: High Risk OB Clinic and a renovated OB unit.

The High Risk OB Clinic began in August with Dr. Mohammad Rajabi, a Cleveland Clinic physician who is board certified in Obstetrics and gynecology and in maternal-fetal medicine. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Rajabi provides his services on the first and third Fridays of every month in a specialty clinic on the first floor of the ACMC Medical Office Building where he performs diagnostic procedures, such as comprehensive ultrasound and genetic amniocentesis.

“Since Dr. Rajabi is at ACMC on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of every month, patients do not have to travel to Hillcrest or the Cleveland Clinic,” said Dr. Dan Lazarescu, the chairman of the ACMC OB/Gyn Department at an open-house of the OB Unit on Wednesday. “They can get what they need right here in their hometown.”

Who is considered “high risk?”

“Women over the age of 35 and women with multiple medical issues like high blood pressure and diabetes,” Lazarescu said. “We also can do ultra-sounds for small babies or anything that becomes more complicated.”

The goal is to keep the expectant mothers at ACMC, but depending on extenuating circumstances, they may need to deliver at Hillcrest Hospital or another tertiary facility, that deals with pre-mature babies, Lazarescu said.

“Here at ACMC we deal with 35 weeks gestation and above,” he said.

Some who visit the third floor of ACMC may think they’ve stumbled into spa or an elegant hotel, said John Engelmann, who is the nurse manager at ACMC.

From the soothing green decor to expansive private post-partum rooms complete with showers, the OB Unit is a pleasant, yet professional place to be. The Unit recently received a face-lift that included the renovation of four post-partum rooms.

“I am very impressed with the overall lay out (of the rooms) and the private bathrooms are great,” said Rebecca Loomis, of Saybrook and a mother-to-be who was taking advantage of the open-house.

In 2004, two rooms were renovated to include labor, delivery and post-partum in the same room. The unit also boasts three birthing rooms and one operating room.