$100 Million Hospital Expansion Reaches Milestone With Relocation of Maternity and Infant Care Services
Boardman, Ohio (PRWEB) April 03, 2014 -- St. Elizabeth Health Center’s Maternity Services and the Akron Children’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) will move from their location at St. Elizabeth Health Center (SEHC) in Youngstown to newly constructed and expanded facilities at St. Elizabeth Boardman Health Center (SEBHC) April 7,
The relocation of services marks a major milestone in the $100 million construction of a new seven-floor, 122-bed patient tower at SEBHC. The hospital expansion is part of Humility of Mary Health Partners’ (HMHP) plan to invest more than $203 million in new construction and equipment improvements at all three of the system’s hospitals.
“The original hospital was built to support an additional patient tower,” explained Genie Aubel, president of SEBHC. “But when we opened, we had no idea this day would come so soon.”
Families coming to SEBHC to have a baby will notice a difference right away. Drop-off parking for moms in labor is next to a 24-hour dedicated entrance where an exclusive maternity elevator will go directly to the labor and delivery unit on the hospital’s third floor.
“Whoever brings the expectant mother to the hospital will be able to pull into a parking space close to the door, accompany her to labor and delivery and get her settled before needing to move the vehicle to our visitor parking area,” said Anna Klejka, director of maternity services at SEBHC.
The new maternity and infant care areas will follow the model of private patient rooms that was established when SEBHC opened in 2007. In addition to 14 labor and delivery suites and three operating rooms for Cesarean section deliveries, the third floor of SEBHC will have 33 private Post-Partum rooms where baby can stay with his or her mother or be cared for in a newborn nursery.
The Akron Children’s NICU on the hospital’s second floor will feature 23 individual rooms equipped so parents can stay with their babies. Four adjoining rooms can be opened to accommodate multiples and there are two larger rooms that can accommodate twins in the same room. Families in the current NICU will be able to preview the new NICU and pick a room for baby from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 6.
“As the only Level III NICU between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, we serve as a regional referral center for nine hospitals and six counties,” said Mary Ellen Michael, nurse manager, Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley. “So, in creating the new NICU, it was important that we offered families the ability to stay close to their newborns in an environment that was calm and personal.”
Before they start accepting patients in the new units, HMHP and Akron Children’s are inviting the public to visit. An open house is planned from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 7, at St. Elizabeth Boardman Health Center. A free shuttle service will run between event parking at the Ice Zone on McClurg Road and the hospital.
“We’re showcasing our newest services, but our expansion has touched nearly every aspect of the hospital,” said Aubel. “We’ve added intensive care beds, an infusion center, new operating rooms and even a new gift shop.”
Aubel noted the expansion will nearly double the number of patient rooms at the hospital. As a result, services such as respiratory care, radiology and dialysis have been expanded to serve the additional patients.
One nursing unit has already moved into the new wing on the fourth floor, according to Aubel. Rooms on the fifth through seventh floors will open in a phased approach, beginning at the end of the year and continuing through early 2017, when SEBHC will have 250 beds.
“We are taking a very close look at the services we provide to make sure we have the most appropriate services in the locations where they can serve the greatest number of people,” said Robert Shroder, president and CEO of HMHP. “This is balanced with making sure that people who do not live in high-population areas and who may have limited transportation have access to the care they need.”
Sally Hammel, Humility of Mary Health Partners, http://hmpartners.org, +1 (330) 480-2106, [email protected]
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