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FIRST LOOK: Check out UC Health's $10M expansion

April 7, 2015  |  UC Health, West Chester Hospital
UC Health, West Chester Hospital

Cincinnati Business Courier

UC Health’s West Chester Hospital hired 46 registered nurses and 20 other people to staff its $10 million maternity ward, which is due to open this month.

The hospital expects to deliver close to 750 babies in its first 12 months, spokeswoman Deb Titlebaum said. That’s up from the original estimate of 500 births in the first year, and the number of jobs created rose from a previous estimate of 50. The 6-year-old hospital now has a total staff of 1,045.

If West Chester Hospital hits its mark of nearly 750 deliveries in its first year, it would be one of the top hospitals for maternity services in Greater Cincinnati.

By comparison, Fort Hamilton Hospital in Butler County delivered 595 babies in 2013, Atrium Medical Center in Middletown delivered 859 and Mercy Health’s Fairfield Hospital delivered 2,021. The top local hospital was Good Samaritan in University Heights, which delivered 6,001 babies.

Construction of the 26,500-square-foot maternity services wing is done, but the hospital must await state certification before announcing when the first expectant mom will be admitted. That should happen later this month, Titlebaum said.

The maternity ward will include eight delivery suites, two Caesarean-section operating rooms, triage rooms and nurseries. The Business Courier got an advance look, and you can check it out by clicking on the photo at right to view a slideshow.

With each new birth, a staff member will push a button to play a 19-second rendition of “Brahms’ Lullaby,” a cradle song composed by Johannes Brahms. The tune will sound throughout the halls of the maternity ward, Titlebaum said.

A Wednesday ribbon-cutting ceremony will include Dr. Rick Lofgren, CEO of UC Health; Dr. William Ball, dean of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine; Dr. Kevin Joseph, CEO of West Chester Hospital; Dr. Arthur Evans III, chairman of the UC Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Dr. Dana Lovell, medical director of maternity services at West Chester Hospital.

An open house for the public has been scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 11 on the third floor of the hospital, 7700 University Drive. Doctors and other medical providers will be available to answer questions about services, and tours will be offered.

Highlights will include surgical suites, recovery rooms and a mural outside the friends and family lounge that depicts West Chester history, which was created by local artist Matthew Dayler of Higherlevel Art.

The open house will follow a free maternity seminar from 10 to 11:30 a.m., which will focus on common questions that arise during the third trimester of pregnancy.

On April 20, West Chester Hospital will begin a series of seminars for expectant and new moms. The first class, which costs $20 per couple, will run 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and focus on breastfeeding and natural childbirth techniques.

 

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