Episcopal Health Services (EHS) will soon open a state-of-the-art labor and delivery suite for expecting mothers living on the Rockaway peninsula and surrounding areas.
QNS gained exclusive access to the suite located at 327 Beach 19th St., which will officially open on July 31 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The nearly $12 million labor and delivery suite has six spacious private rooms, designed with the comfort of the expecting mother and newborn in mind. Construction of the unit took over a year.
The rooms overlook the Far Rockaway skyline and are equipped with family-friendly amenities, including a pull-out couch, desk space and spa-inspired bathrooms. Expectant mothers can shower and labor in the bathrooms if they desire.
The suite will have approximately 50 team members working on the floor, according to EHS. A spacious nurse monitoring station will monitor patients’ vitals with direct access to each of the labor and delivery rooms.
Other patient-related care features inlcude wireless Novii™ fetal monitoring, which allows for mobility during labor, and complimentary pre- and postnatal doula services and lactation support. The suites are amenable to all pregnancy types, including high-risk pregnancies, and EHS has a Level 2 NICU.
Ideally, the expectant mothers will labor in their rooms, but for those with higher-risk pregnancies, two operating rooms are available in the wing for cesarian sections and other labor-related procedures.
EHS CEO Dr. Donald T. Morrish explained that the new labor and delivery unit was imagined from the hospital’s previous Community Health Needs Assessment. The assessment showed that residents desired more comprehensive labor and delivery services on the peninsula.
Morrish said the assessment allowed EHS to directly engage with the Rockaway community, giving them a platform to voice their input on how EHS can continue to evolve its practices to provide comprehensive care for residents.
Morrish described the unit’s opening as a major feat over a decade in the making.
“ Over the course of 12 to 13 years, executives, elected officials, community members, and all of us got together. We were able to raise funds and bring this beautiful unit to fruition. We’ve been providing high-quality care throughout with a good patient experience too,” Morrish said. “It’s been improving every single day, and now we have a beautiful infrastructure that actually really shows the community that we’re here and dedicated to providing care in the community itself.”
Morrish emphasized that the comfort elements of the suite, including the large bathrooms, spacious rooms, and gourmet meals for expecting mothers, represent that medical services are a full-fledged experience.
“ Medical care is no longer episodic. You don’t come into a hospital and get a shot and leave; it’s an experience.,” he said. “You should be treated well as an individual, feel welcomed, and have amenities around you. We look at providing healthcare in an environment in which we want to be provided in. Having a baby is not just an episode, and you take them home. It’s an experience, and we want to be part of that.”
EHS Executive Vice President and COO Karen Paige said the soon-to-open suite sends a message that the hospital is committed to supporting the local community.
“ This has been a long time coming for the organization. I think the opening of this unit shows the community our commitment to delivering high-quality, person-centered care,” Paige said. “ The unit was extremely well thought out and was worked on and designed in collaboration with all the key stakeholders, both clinical and nonclinical, individuals, to ensure that when the patients do come, they have the best experience,” she said.
Dr. Jacqueline Marecheau, Chair of EHS OB-GYN, discussed how the labor and delivery suites’ various amenities and design impact birth outcomes from a clinical perspective.
“ In our current state, because the rooms are so small, we labor patients in the rooms and then we take them to the operating rooms to deliver,” Marecheau explained. “That’s a very antiquated way of delivering services. So now with these stunning, spacious rooms, we’re able to…admit, deliver, recover, as well as provide postpartum services all in one space.”
Marecheau emphasized that the complementary doula services were an integral part of the new labor and delivery ward, as doulas often serve as advocates for expecting mothers and a go-between for patients and their OBGYNs.
“ They provide emotional support as well as advocacy for our moms. As well as providing that lending ear, that tender touch for the patients in our population,” she said.
Marecheau said that a doula’s presence can have a direct effect on decreasing C-section rates and preterm births.
Additionally, doula support is vital for mothers in their fourth trimester, which occurs post-birth. Currently, there are 24 rotating doulas at EHS. The hospital secured grant funding for a Maternal Social Determinants of Health Program, which utilizes doulas to hone in on all of the social determinants of health to figure out the needs of expecting and postpartum patients.
“ We listen to the patients and provide that postpartum support, albeit in person or virtually. They have access to a doula up to a year, when the patients are actually the most vulnerable,” Marecheau said.
Marecheau added that the spaciousness of the maternal suites is designed with family in mind, to foster a supportive environment for expectant mothers.
“ It’s not just person-centered care, but family-centered care. And we invite the entire family to be in this space with them. It really lends to how they are able to cope in labor. Having your family around, especially amongst communities of color, is really important,” she said.
Marecheau said that the new labor and delivery suite represents a standard of care that can be replicated at EHS and other hospitals.
“I think this should be the standard. Safety above all else, but a hint of luxury is not bad at all,” she said. “ At the end of the day, the goal is to bring home both a healthy mom and a healthy baby,” she said.
