Maternity Pavilion
At CentraState, mom, baby get
quiet, private postpartum care
20 new rooms comprise
First Impressions
Maternity Pavilion
By linda denicola
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — Laboring to deliver a baby and learning to bond with the new addition to the family are now in two separate areas of CentraState Medical Center in Freehold Township. Called the First Impressions Maternity Pavilion, the new mother-baby wing nearly doubles the size of the department and changes the birthing model.
The new addition, which was dedicated Sept. 6 and opened on Sept. 16, marks a major change in postpartum care at the 31-year-old hospital.
For years, hospitals have provided private rooms for women to labor, deliver, recover and receive postpartum care, said John T. Gribbin, president and CEO, CentraState Healthcare System. But after research with patients and potential obstetrics patients, CentraState is changing the birthing model. Women now can labor, deliver and recover in one of 10 private rooms, then move to one of 20 new private rooms for postpartum care, he said.
"We listened to the moms in our Maternity Department, and while they liked the privacy of single rooms for all of their birthing needs, over the past year, more and more asked us to find a way to give them some quiet space for postpartum," said Donna Weeks, R.N., nurse manager, maternal child service.
Hospital administrators also sought input from the nursing staff, the people who work in the maternity department. Weeks said she and another staff member went to the architect’s office and talked about what they wanted and needed.
"We looked at samples and told them what we were looking for," Weeks said. "We brought back samples of everything and then got input from the nurses.
"I’m excited about the new maternity pavilion," Weeks continued. "The nursing staff is excited too. They picked out the room decorations, including the border in the nursery. It’s been an exciting project, and we like how it turned out."
These new mother-baby rooms are in a freshly remodeled wing of the hospital, on the same floor, but away from the noisy labor and delivery rooms. The large, cheerful rooms are off a hallway decorated in subtle, but warm white and tan. The floors are carpeted in blue tweed with doors and trim in a light wood.
There are colorful paintings of children on the walls and balloons everywhere. The nursery has a fanciful ceiling with stars and moons and a border of bears playing ball.
The new mother-baby wing features a private waiting area, buffet service for mothers and their families, an aquarium to help families relax, and on-call rooms for obstetricians.
"The layout of the new unit is great," said Norman Back, M.D., chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at CentraState. "It’s on the same floor as the existing labor and delivery unit, so following recovery, patients will have a short ride to the quiet private rooms, away from the noise and commotion in labor and delivery.
"This new birthing model should be a big hit with our patients," he added. According to Weeks, the maternity department staff consists of 90 people working in various capacities. All staff members are cross-trained and alternate between both sections. There are two lactation consultants so that there is always one on duty plus one nurse educator and a clinical nurse specialist, she said.
Mothers continue to have the option to keep their newborns in the rooms with them, or in the nursery, Weeks explained, adding that fathers, or other adults, can continue to accompany mothers in both the labor and mother-baby wings. Construction of the new wing has been under way for six months at a cost of $3 million. Floor space for the maternity department has grown from 16,000 to more than 30,000 square feet.
August was the busiest August on record for births at the hospital, with 135 babies born. It was also the third busiest birth month in 31 years of service.