New Women's Pavilion Brings Babies Back To Ochsner Baptist In New Orleans For First Time Since 2005

NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Babies are back at Baptist for the first time in eight years!  On Sunday, December 1, Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans completed the move of its Women's Services departments and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) from the Jefferson Highway location to the brand new Women's Pavilion at Ochsner Baptist hospital.

Thirty-one NICU babies, eight women and three newborns were transferred to Ochsner Baptist during this timeframe.  Acadian Ambulance used 12 ambulances to transport patients every ten minutes. More than 100 members of the Ochsner and Acadian Ambulance teams participated in the move which took approximately eight hours.

"Move Day itself required more than a year of planning," said Ava Jo Collins, Chief Operations Officer at Ochsner Baptist. "Because we were transporting our sickest infants as well as mothers who had just given birth, it was critical that we were prepared for every possible issue."

"The move went off without a hitch and all patients are safe and sound in the new Women's Pavilion," said Dawn Anuszkiewicz, Chief Executive Officer at Ochsner Baptist.

The Women's Pavilion includes the women's services departments previously located at Ochsner Medical Center on Jefferson Highway: OB/GYN clinics, Labor and Delivery, Maternal Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Robotic Surgery as well as the Level III Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The NICU cares for infants across the Gulf South, and is run by an experienced team of board certified neonatologists offering the most advanced infant care possible.

Additionally, the Women's Pavilion features The Perkin Alternative Birthing Center, which will open in late December. The Perkin Alternative Birthing Center is the only hospital-based alternative birthing center in the region. A staff of Certified Nurse Midwives will provide mothers with a natural, holistic birth experience in a homelike environment with comfortable beds and birthing tubs.

Ochsner will continue to provide women's services at its hospitals on the West Bank, the North Shore, and in Kenner, Raceland and Baton Rouge.

"As the state's largest nonprofit healthcare system, this move affords us the opportunity to serve more women and families across the Gulf South region. The capacity made available at the Jefferson Highway campus will allow us to serve a greater number of patients who have been referred based on critical needs," said Warner Thomas, President and CEO of Ochsner Health System. "More specifically, this project represents a continued investment in the Greater New Orleans area as a healthcare destination for the region."

Just hours after the move was complete, the first baby, Scott Stafford Crayne, was born weighing seven pounds, five ounces and was 20.5 inches long.

For more information, please visit OchsnerBabies.org or call 1-866-OCHSNER.

Video with caption: "The new Women's Pavilion brings babies back to Ochsner Baptist in New Orleans for the first time since 2005. The Women's Pavilion includes OB/GYN clinics, Labor and Delivery, Maternal Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Robotic Surgery as well as the Level III Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Additionally, it features The Perkin Alternative Birthing Center, which will open in late December. The Perkin Alternative Birthing Center is the only hospital-based alternative birthing center in the region." Video available at: http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/PRNA/ENR/FX-MM30302-20131210-1.mp4

Image with caption: "Scott Stafford Crayne was the first baby born at Ochsner Baptist since 2005. Born on December 1 at 4:43 p.m., Scott weighed seven pounds and five ounces. First-time parents Courtney and Randy Crayne are pictured here with their new son." Image available at: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131209/MM30302-a

Image with caption: "The Women's Pavilion features The Perkin Alternative Birthing Center, which is the only hospital-based alternative birthing center in the region. A staff of Certified Nurse Midwives will provide mothers with a natural, holistic birth experience in a homelike environment with comfortable beds and birthing tubs." Image available at: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131209/MM30302-b

SOURCE Ochsner Health System