Orlando Health Opens New Fetal Care Center to Expand Access and Deliver Advanced Care for High-Risk Pregnancies

ORLANDO, FL (June 10, 2025) – Orlando Health is proud to announce the official opening of its new Fetal Care Center, a state-of-the-art facility designed to enhance services for patients with high-risk pregnancies. Located at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies, the new center will go live on June 13, offering expanded space, advanced technology, and greater access to expert care.

The new 5,725-square-foot Fetal Care Center features:

• Six ultrasound exam rooms
• Two fetal non-stress test (NST) bays
• A dedicated consult room
• Conferencing space with real-time connectivity to the hospital's Operating Room

This expansion allows for greater patient access and streamlined coordination of care, with the ability to consult directly with surgical teams in real time—a major benefit for families facing complex fetal diagnoses and in-utero procedures.

“Our Maternal-Fetal Medicine team is committed to providing the highest level of care for mothers and babies experiencing high-risk conditions,” said Dr. Mike Vlastos, director of the Fetal Care Center. “This new space gives us the tools and capacity to do even more—supporting families through diagnosis, treatment, and birth with the compassion and expertise they deserve.”

The center recently celebrated its 55th successful prenatal spina bifida repair, a milestone that underscores the depth of experience and innovation within the program. Orlando Health Winnie Palmer is the first hospital in Florida—and the only in the Southeast— to offer open fetal surgery to repair the most severe forms of spina bifida before birth.

The Fetal Care Center delivers personalized, comprehensive care through a multidisciplinary team that offers:

• Detailed evaluations of fetal anatomy, growth, and well-being through advanced ultrasound and fetal echocardiograms.
• Diagnosis and treatment of fetal anomalies and congenital conditions.
• One-on-one consultation and counseling with specialized fetal care physicians.
• Genetic counseling and support when conditions have a hereditary component.
• Palliative care planning, when appropriate, for families facing life-limiting diagnoses.

Innovative fetal procedures available at the center include:

• Repair of open neural tube defects, including myeloschisis and myelomeningocele.
• Treatment of urinary tract obstructions.
• Removal or management of congenital tumors or teratomas.
• Interventions for pulmonary conditions and congenital masses.

“At Orlando Health, our mission is to provide answers, support, and hope to families navigating some of the most difficult moments of their lives,” said Dr. Cole Greves co-director of the Fetal Care Center. “With the opening of our new Fetal Care Center, we are expanding what is possible in maternal-fetal medicine.”

FULL VIDEO OF EVENT AVAILABLE HERE

About Orlando Health

Orlando Health is a private not-for-profit, integrated academic healthcare system with $12 billion of assets under management, that serves the southeastern United States – including Florida and Alabama – and Puerto Rico. With corporate offices in Orlando, Florida the system provides a complete continuum of care across a network of medical centers and institutes, community and specialty hospitals, physician practices, urgent care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, home healthcare, and long-term and behavioral health care services. Founded more than 100 years ago, Orlando Health’s mission is to improve the health and the quality of life of the individuals and communities we serve. The system provided nearly $1.7 billion in community impact in the form of community benefit programs and services, Medicare shortfalls, bad debt, community-building activities and capital investments in FY 23, the most recent period for which the information is available. For more information, visit orlandohealth.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter.)