Staff

Meet The Team

You join an established two-physician Maternal-Fetal Medicine group that practices under Maternal Fetal Care of San Antonio within the Baptist Medical Network. The group is consultative and supports a broad base of OB/GYNs across the system. The culture across Baptist's women's services is collaborative and long-tenured, with referring physicians, nursing teams, and support staff who tend to stay for years.

Maternal-Fetal Medicine Group

The current MFM physicians:

• Marissa Ylagan, MD, who practices at the North Central location. She completed her MFM fellowship at the University of California San Diego and served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force, including roles as Division Director of MFM at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth and Chief of MFM at San Antonio Military Medical Center.

Profile: https://www.baptisthealthsystem.com/find-a-doctor/detail/marissa-ylagan-1942266051

• Akwugo Eziefule, MD, who covers the St. Luke's side. She completed her MFM fellowship at UT Health Science Center at Houston and is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and a member of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

Profile: https://www.baptisthealthsystem.com/provider/1245468354

The incoming physician joins this group as a third MFM, sharing the call rotation and helping expand consultative coverage.

How the Team Works Together

The MFM group operates consultatively alongside the referring OB/GYNs, who remain primary for their patients. The relationship is built on support rather than handoff: the MFM sets the plan and follows as needed, while the OB continues to manage and deliver. Referring physicians value having MFM available close to home, and the group works closely with labor and delivery nursing, the NICU teams, and a patient navigator who coordinates high-risk care.

Referral Base: Acacia OB/GYN

Referrals come from the employed Acacia OB/GYN network and from community OB/GYNs across the metro. Acacia is the system's OB/GYN brand, spanning multiple San Antonio locations including North Central, St. Luke's, Mission Trail, Broadway, and Westover Hills. Demand is already established and referrals are backlogged at North Central: the two current MFMs received 92 referrals from just two referring OBs over a recent five-month period.

A key referring physician at the Mission Trail location is Dr. Hatem Hatem, MD, a high-volume OB/GYN who performs roughly 400 or more deliveries per year and refers about 60% or more of his patients to MFM, driven by high BMI, diabetes, and advanced maternal age pregnancies. His referral volume alone supports a strong consultative caseload for an MFM based at or covering that site.

Profile: https://www.baptisthealthsystem.com/find-a-doctor/detail/hatem-hatem-1790123156

Clinical Support Model

The practice runs on an experienced, efficient support team. A typical MFM clinic is staffed with:

• A dedicated MFM nurse who handles initial history taking and anticipates orders
• A medical assistant
• Two full-time MFM sonographers, most fetal echo certified
• An RN supporting diabetic education
• Front desk and clinic coordination

Practice Culture

Across Baptist's women's services, the groups are described as collegial and mutually supportive, with very low physician turnover among the referring OB/GYN groups. The MFM practice itself is built around autonomy and work-life balance, with a strong support staff that lets physicians move efficiently through high clinic volumes.