Work began early this year to overhaul Providence Holy Family Hospital’s family maternity center as part of a nearly $10 million remodel that’s been three years in the making.
As part of the project, Holy Family’s labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum suites — which allow new mothers to receive all necessary care in just one room — will be expanded, says Providence Women’s Services Director Susan Stacey.
“The rooms that exist are just about half the size of what is now considered to be an appropriately sized labor and delivery room,” Stacey says. “We will be rebuilding them to be large enough to accommodate families and all equipment. It will be state-of-the-art — and more home-like and comfortable.”
New features to be included in each of the 16 maternity suites include a bed for the mother’s spouse or partner, two computer stations for nurses and physicians and a large soaking tub in the bathroom.
The remodel and expansion will increase Holy Family’s special care nursery beds — used to care for babies who need special monitoring or additional treatment — from three to five, and Stacey says the maternity center will also gain five new triage rooms for pregnant women who aren’t yet in labor but need immediate medical care.
Labor and delivery wait for no one, so the remodel is being done in two phases to allow patients to continue to get care while work is underway. Stacey says the first phase should wrap up in July, while the second phase should be finished by February 2014.
