UAB Synopsis, Vol. 25, No. 27, October 30, 2006

Construction of the UAB Women and Infants’ Facility (WIF) was approved unanimously by the University of Alabama Board of Trustees on June 16. The $140 million, 60,000-square-foot freestanding facility will cover a city block between 5th and 6th avenues and 17th and 18th streets south and is slated to open in 2009.

High-risk Patients

The UAB Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Department of Pediatrics’ Division of Neonatology are nationally recognized for excellence in patient care and research. Primary maternity care, obstetrics, and neonatology also are the principal providers of high-risk care for women and infants from around the state. UAB’s Level IIID Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (RNICU) delivers specialized care to the region’s most vulnerable infants, but has been constrained by capacity and outdated facilities.

“When combined, neonatology and obstetrics are consistently the hospital’s most profitable services, yet they are located in a space inadequate to meet need and demand,” says UAB Health System CEO David Hoidal. “We are investing in a facility commensurate with our mission to deliver the highest quality health care to the people of Alabama.”

Family-centered

Years in planning, the WIF will include 56 neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) bassinets and 57 continuing care nursery (CCN) bassinets. “The state’s sickest babies will be cared for in an ideal facility built according to current optimal care standards,” says Division of Neonatology Director Wally A. Carlo, MD.

“We know that parental care during the perinatal period improves outcomes,” he says. Daybeds for mothers will help promote parent-baby bonding as part of an overall effort to support the entire family. “In the future, parents will be more involved as part of the health care team,” Dr. Carlo says.

“We will have the only supratertiary NICU in the state,” he says, explaining plans for shelved space to house both pediatric and neonatal cardiovascular intensive care, among other services.

There will be a significant shift in delivery of neonatal intensive care and step-down care, says Madonna M. Nichols, administrative director of Women’s Services. “We looked not only at the patient, but also at how best to support the family,” Nichols says. “In the new building, both the RNICU and CCN will have family dens with computers and Internet access so parents can find out more about their babies’ diagnoses.”

Sophisticated technologies to enhance nurse productivity and patient communications also are being considered, she says.

In line with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ emphasis on early and frequent breast feeding, a lactation center will help patients understand and support their choices for feeding. Spaces for the families of antepartum mothers will also include a laundry area and glassed-in play area. “If a mom has a sick baby and other children, life goes on for this family,” says Nichols. “Our goal is to provide the family with a physical space that supports them and allows them to be centered during this stressful time.”

“This is the kind of facility that patients in Alabama with high-risk conditions deserve,” says Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Chair John C. Hauth, MD. “With all obstetrics services on a single floor of this state-of-the art building, continuum of care will be greatly enhanced.”

WIF Features
Neonatology:
• 57 CCN bassinets
• 56 RNICU bassinets
Obstetrics and Gynecology:
• 11 maternity evaluation rooms
• 17 labor and delivery rooms
• 28 antepartum beds
• 28 postpartum beds
• 4 Cesarean-section ORs
• 40 well baby bassinets
• 56 beds for gynecology/oncology and complex medical/surgical gynecology services
• Reserved parking for obstetric patients in advanced stages of pregnancy and labor