The $2.5 million project will have taken about 10 months to complete, once it is finished.
Vice President of Operations at LewisGale Sean Tobin said, “Certainly it’s been a huge impact for us here at the hospital, but our construction partners have done a tremendous job of minimizing patient impact while still moving the project forward.”
Adding a NICU center allows for moms and babies to stay close after delivery. Before this, if there were any troubles, they would have to remove the baby and transfer them away from the family.
“To have to go and explain to those parents that the baby may have to go to a different hospital in order to receive some of those services; it causes all the nursing staff to tear up as well as it does the families,” said Maternity Services Director Lisa Wade.
Health leaders say the benefits of having the mother and baby nearby range from stabilizing the baby’s blood sugar to helping the baby’s transition into newborn life. That’s what makes this addition special to LewisGale Medical Center.
“We are excited to be able to keep families together and really care for both mother and baby here even when the baby has any kind of complications,” said Tobin.