Makeover was in direct response to consumer focus group feedback
Wood flooring, sofa-beds tested by Dads, rocking chairs, labor tubs and more were at the top of the consumer focus group list, which inspired a recent $500,000 makeover to the Childbirth Center.
With more than 4,000 babies born each year at Missouri Baptist, all OB patient rooms were redesigned, adding home-like touches to this popular birth destination.
"We asked new mothers what they and their families needed versus trying to fit them into our experience," says Lisa Parker, director, Women's and Children's Services. "Then we listened and made changes."
We listened and we redesigned our OB floor . . .
Women in Missouri Baptist's consumer focus groups were very specific about what they wanted in their rooms. In response, the designers created a softer feel, so walls now feature calming colors, art, molding and sconces. Window treatments, flat screen TVs and DVD players were added throughout. Ceiling fans and lights closer to beds were installed in the Labor and Delivery suites allow laboring women to better control the temperature and dim lights during labor.
The OB department has three areas: Labor and Delivery suites, Mother-Baby rooms for post-delivery, and antepartum rooms for women requiring bed rest and monitoring.
"There's longevity with our staff and they develop relationships with families," says Parker. "This is especially important in the antepartum unit, when a mother may stay two to three weeks with us. It's important during this time for mothers to see the same nurse. Some of our nurses even ask to switch shifts so that they can assist with the delivery of their APU patients.
Level IIIA NICU
Missouri Baptist's Special Care Nursery has been upgraded also -- to a Level IIIA NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) designation, as determined by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN). This means the NICU can care for premature babies with birth weight of more than 1000 grams and gestational age of more than 28 weeks.
"In the past, if an unstable baby was admitted for more than 48 hours without change or worsening illness, our neonatologists would consider sending the baby and the family to St. Louis Children's Hospital," says Cori Miller, RN, nurse manager of pediatric services. "Now, the baby and her family will be able to remain in our care -- unless, of course, they need surgery or an extremely high level of care. In those cases, it's in the baby's best interest that the care occur in the NICU at St. Louis Children's Hospital -- one of the nation's top pediatric hospitals."
The NICU physicians at Missouri Baptist Medical Center are all Washington University neonatologists, on-staff at St. Louis Children's Hospital.
The Missouri Baptist Labor and Delivery Department has a strong collaboration with Washington University School of Medicine. "Their physicians staff our Center for Women's Wellness and Fetal Health, which specializes in multiples and other high risk deliveries," says Miller. "At every high-risk delivery, in addition to the delivery team, we have a pediatrician or neonatologist and a specially trained nurse who care specifically for the babies. If a mother is having multiple babies, we have a team for each baby. A real plus in the Center is a team of genetic counselors, ultrasound technologists, nurses, neonatologists, perinatologists, and pediatric specialists. The Center provides the clinical expertise necessary to support a healthy pregnancy and delivery in at-risk situations including twins and other multiples. You can't ask for a better collaboration than that."