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The Spradling Birthing Center, a one-of-a-kind facility located in the heart of Carthage’s McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital, turned a year old Thursday night, and a birthday bash was held in the building’s honor.
A majority of the 96 newborn boys and girls born in this state-of-the-art center since last September were invited to celebrate this key milestone for the hospital.
Tiny Isaiah Reales was one of those 96 tots invited to the party, which was highlighted by famous infant celebrities that included Toys R Us-famed Geoffrey the Giraffe and the Precious Moments twins.
While Isaiah slept in his grandmother’s arms, Debbie Portillo of Carthage, his mother, sitting nearby, spoke about her stay at the birthing center.
“It became like a second home to me,” Yolanda Reales, of Carthage, said. “I was one of the last babies born at the old McCune-Brooks hospital and now my son is one of the latest to be born here in the new one.”
The old McCune-Brooks hospital, in the 600 block of West Centennial Street,
ceased delivering babies in early 1984. One of the goals of the brand new facility was to bring that important service back to the Carthage community.
“It’s neat to see the future of Carthage born right here in Carthage,” said Nursing Manager Sandi Godfrey, RN.
There’s still a perception out there among small communities like Carthage that a local hospital isn’t truly a hospital unless it provides reliable OB/GYN services.
“We’ve delivered 96 babies and we will hit 100 next week,” Godfrey said. “We were hoping (the 100th baby) would delivered today, but we’ve come really close.
“One hundred was the goal of the hospital for the first year so we are extremely happy we’re right there on the mark.”
A party is planned for the family of that 100th birth, whenever it takes place. It should be similar in size and scale to the one held for little Mya Rose Wilcox and her parents, Cynthia and Aaron Wilcox. Mya, weighing in at four pounds and 14 ounces, was the first baby born since the early 1980s at McCune-Brooks. That birth occurred at 4:24 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2008.
Ironically, the 100th baby is projected to arrive next Friday, which will be Sept. 11.
Mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters and of course the McCune-Brooks infants streamed in and out of the reception room between 4-7 p.m., eating cake, drinking punch and having pictures taken with Geoffrey.
The Spradling Birthing Center, a one-of-a-kind facility located in the heart of Carthage’s McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital, turned a year old Thursday night, and a birthday bash was held in the building’s honor.
A majority of the 96 newborn boys and girls born in this state-of-the-art center since last September were invited to celebrate this key milestone for the hospital.
Tiny Isaiah Reales was one of those 96 tots invited to the party, which was highlighted by famous infant celebrities that included Toys R Us-famed Geoffrey the Giraffe and the Precious Moments twins.
While Isaiah slept in his grandmother’s arms, Debbie Portillo of Carthage, his mother, sitting nearby, spoke about her stay at the birthing center.
“It became like a second home to me,” Yolanda Reales, of Carthage, said. “I was one of the last babies born at the old McCune-Brooks hospital and now my son is one of the latest to be born here in the new one.”
The old McCune-Brooks hospital, in the 600 block of West Centennial Street,
ceased delivering babies in early 1984. One of the goals of the brand new facility was to bring that important service back to the Carthage community.
“It’s neat to see the future of Carthage born right here in Carthage,” said Nursing Manager Sandi Godfrey, RN.
There’s still a perception out there among small communities like Carthage that a local hospital isn’t truly a hospital unless it provides reliable OB/GYN services.
“We’ve delivered 96 babies and we will hit 100 next week,” Godfrey said. “We were hoping (the 100th baby) would delivered today, but we’ve come really close.
“One hundred was the goal of the hospital for the first year so we are extremely happy we’re right there on the mark.”
A party is planned for the family of that 100th birth, whenever it takes place. It should be similar in size and scale to the one held for little Mya Rose Wilcox and her parents, Cynthia and Aaron Wilcox. Mya, weighing in at four pounds and 14 ounces, was the first baby born since the early 1980s at McCune-Brooks. That birth occurred at 4:24 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2008.
Ironically, the 100th baby is projected to arrive next Friday, which will be Sept. 11.
Mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters and of course the McCune-Brooks infants streamed in and out of the reception room between 4-7 p.m., eating cake, drinking punch and having pictures taken with Geoffrey.
“It’s neat to see how old the babies are now, what a reward to us,” Godfrey said.
Ashley Owens, tenderly holding her three-week-old son, Tyler, said her stay in the center “was really comfortable.”
Such sentiments often cause Godfrey and her staff to smile. That’s because the whole idea behind the birthing center was to make the mother’s stay as comfortable as humanly possible.
“Let me put it from a patient’s point of view and the feedback we’ve heard from our patients,” Godfrey said. “They really enjoy how relaxed it is, their rooms, as well as how great the environment is. All of them have really enjoyed the babies being in the room with them as well the experienced staff.”
The more relaxed the mothers are, Godfrey continued, “the quicker the babies will be born.”
Increasing the stress and discomfort of the expectant mothers, she said, “increases the risks of complications.”
The Birthing Center is all about the rooms — four large labor/delivery rooms providing a homelike atmosphere where a mother can progress through labor, deliver her baby and care for it all in the same relaxing, private enviroment. The “high-tech” birthing equipment is kept out of site in a closet, the room is furnished with a sofa bed, a refrigerator, a whirlpool tub, a baby-friendly hand sink designed for ease in bathing babies, a glider-rocker, and a dining table. Amenities such as designer décor, computers, and flat screen TVs give the room a touch of luxury.
