Jan 7, 2022 5 min read

When you’re expecting a baby, it can feel like you are in charge of making countless decisions that will affect your child’s health and safety. It can be very overwhelming! But one of the most important decisions you can make for you and your child is where to give birth. Did you know that there is an award-winning, state-of-theart labor and delivery hospital unit right in your backyard? Washington Health System’s CARE Center for Family Birth and Women’s Health checks all the boxes for a safe, comfortable and convenient childbirth experience.

SKILLED AND EXPERIENCED CARE

Your number one priority is the health and safety of you and your baby. WHS has a proven track record of quality care and they have the awards to prove it. WHS recently received the Healthgrades 2020 Labor and Delivery Excellence Award.

Healthgrades, the leading resource for connecting consumers, physicians and health systems, ranked WHS in the top 10% of hospitals evaluated in the nation for excellent care of mothers and babies during and after labor. WHS was the only hospital to win this award in an 80-mile radius. By analyzing data, Healthgrades found that hospital performance makes a significant difference in terms of clinical outcomes. Patients who gave birth in a hospital that received the award had a 40% lower risk of experiencing complications than those treated in a hospital that did not.

WHS also received the Healthgrades Five-Star distinction for vaginal delivery seven years in a row (2015-2021) as well as the Five-Star distinction for c-section delivery three years in a row (2019-2021) and is ranked in the top 10% of hospitals for patient satisfaction, according to patient surveys.

“We have great feedback from our patients,” Leslie Gostic, nurse manager for the CARE Center for Family Birth and Women’s Health, said. “Our satisfaction scores are amazing and that really speaks volumes. Yes, our rooms are beautiful and accommodating, but the care is also here.”

EMERGENCY NEONATAL CARE

WHS plans for the unexpected. That’s why a member of the WHS neonatal resuscitation team attends every birth, whether your pregnancy is high-risk or routine. They are equipped and ready to provide immediate medical intervention. In the event that your baby needs extra care and attention after birth, the staff at the birthing center’s Level 2 special care nursery are equipped to provide expert around-the-clock medical attention.

“We are extremely unique having a provider for EVERY delivery, and I love this part about our unit. We don’t talk about the significance enough,” Gostic said. “We always want a healthy mom and a healthy baby, but sometimes things don’t go as planned. At WHS, there’s an immediate response if needed.”

COMFORT

What if you could have all the comforts of home and the peace of mind that comes from having a full medical team equipped to handle complications and emergencies? When designing the new CARE Center, WHS went straight to the source for the most important opinions: moms, doctors and nurses. With this input, they created a unit that provides comfort for moms and babies and an optimal workspace for doctors and nurses.

“The administration really took to heart what the community had to say in the process,” Gostic said. “They also met with staff to see what their needs were. Many of the features are nurse and family driven. It’s designed with so much input to get it as close to right and perfect as it can be.”

The unit includes five labor and delivery suites, a surgical delivery room, two nurses’ stations, 13 postpartum recovery rooms and a nursery with a dedicated Level 2 special care area. The postpartum recovery rooms are more spacious, prioritizing a comfortable and stress-free environment for mother, family and visitors. Light wood tones, soothing colors and artwork make the unit feel less like a hospital and more like a hotel. The rooms feature a couch that converts into a bed for a partner or spouse, spacious tiled bathrooms with dual shower, USB ports and even a Bluetooth speaker system so you can listen to your own music.

“It’s beautiful. It’s comforting. It’s functional,” Gostic said. “It’s aesthetically pleasing. There’s a lot of little things, like side closets for dirty linen and food trays that can be accessed from the hallway, that make it so much more.”

CONVENIENCE

WHS Washington Hospital is the only hospital in Washington and Greene counties with a birthing center. Approximately 1,000 babies are born there every year! When it’s go-time you probably don’t want to consider the possibility of rush hour traffic, detours and a long drive to the city. You can have peace of mind knowing that if things move quickly, you can get to the hospital quickly and conveniently. You don’t have to sacrifice quality care for convenience.

To learn more about WHS’s CARE Center for Family Birth and Women’s Health, and to take a virtual tour of the unit, visit whs.org/carecenter or call 724-223-3220.

Sponsored content brought to you by Washington Health System.