Clarian West brings life maternity floor

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February 23, 2009

By Andrea Hirsch The Hendricks County Flyer Mon Feb 23, 2009, 05:00 PM EST

AVON — — When Clarian West Medical Center opened here in 2003, the plan was to expand one of the hospital floors to accommodate additional rooms. But about two years ago, that plan was changed when it became apparent that the hospital needed additional space for the maternity ward.

Construction began last May to expand the maternity unit and medical surgery unit, and create a special care nursery.

With more than 1,200 babies born at Clarian in 2008, the expansion came just in time.

The addition opened earlier this month and includes the special care nursery, nine maternity center suites, 16 medical surgical unit rooms, and five flexible patient rooms.

The newest floor is part of an ongoing $21 million expansion of the hospital to help meet the increasing demand for services. BSA Lifestructures and Maregatti Interiors designed the project. The floor was designed to be a complete healing sanctuary for both patients and visitors.

“We are trying to emphasize a healing and wellness atmosphere by including big windows that let light in and give the patient a nice outside view,” said Barbara Bertram, director of the maternity center. “The rooms also provide a private setting with ‘homelike’ decorations to promote the healing process.”

Bertram said the hospital already had a maternity unit on the second floor, but was in dire need of another nursery, especially for special care newborns. Special care babies had to be placed in rooms that were not particularly close to the rooms where their mothers were staying. That has now changed.

“We wanted moms and babies to be as close in proximity to each other as possible,” Bertram said.

The new state-of-the-art nursery features murals and unique artwork on the walls. It has 11 care beds and one isolation room. The new beds also serve as incubators and warming beds.

Becky Dixon, an obstetrician-gynecologist with the hospital, said the nursery has a “wow” factor.

“The special nursery will have additional equipment than a normal nursery would have,” she said. “We want to provide a much more efficient way to care for sick infants.”

Dixon said another aspect of the project is that they wanted to limit the number of times a mother is moved throughout her stay. With the new floor, mothers are only moved from the operating room to the room they will stay in until they’re able to go home.

The new medical surgery unit rooms will accommodate patients who recently underwent surgery or those who need to stay in the hospital for an extended period of time. The rooms also are designed to promote healing and wellness and each have a window where a nurse can check on a patient without entering the room, which will afford more privacy.

The second phase of construction, which includes expansion and renovation to the emergency department, is expected to be complete later this year.

andrea.hirsch@flyergroup.com

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