The babies have been arriving ever since Missouri Baptist Sullivan Hospital celebrated the opening of its new 6,800-square-foot obstetrics department in October with an open house and ribbon cutting. The expansion adds 2,000 square feet to the former 4,800-square-foot unit.

The Hospital's three ob/gyns have each delivered at least one of the new arrivals. Their first deliveries in the new unit were recipients of specially made gift baskets prepared by Rosemary Hornbuckle, RN, and baby blankets made by Tasha Freeman, RN.

The honored first babies included James Arthur II, son of James and Lindsey Eickhorst, who was delivered at 3:09 p.m. October 29 by Roger Rembecki, MD; baby Chloe, daughter of Robert and Sherri Carson, who was delivered by Matthew Tiefenbrunn, MD, at 7:59 a.m. October 30; and baby Samuel, son of Kayla and Joshua Callahan, who was delivered by Peter Lamble, MD, at 10:50 p.m. November 5.

"We're excited about our new area. It's just a beautiful, warm and family-friendly environment," says Sue Sperry, RN, unit manager. "We have an excellent setup that's a very good use of space."

The open house featured tours of the six spacious private birth suites, which are designed to allow new moms to remain in the same room from labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum to discharge. A fully integrated, easily accessible centralized nurses' station, including triage room, allows staff to assess patients in early labor, and a dedicated waiting room provides comfortable space for the families of expectant parents.

"The patient rooms are twice as big as before, which allows more room for family, and our nurses' station provides more room for us to work," says Freeman, a staff nurse for four years. "The area is much more patient-friendly and allows us to better care for our patients."

The centralized nurses' station improves the monitoring of the surrounding birth suites and the nursery, which is now adjacent to the nurses' station. Having the new unit near the surgery department also saves time, because the dedicated operating room for Cesarean sections can be more easily accessed.

Equipped with modern technology, the unit features a family-focused design, allowing the whole family to share a positive birth experience. Each maternity suite provides new parents and their families with expansive windows and scenic views, sleeper sofas and rocking chairs, adjustable lighting, ceiling fans, private bathrooms and showers, flat screen TVs, and DVD and CD players. Designers even covered medical equipment with artwork that slides over the equipment when it's not in use.