‘Push Button’-the sign posted above a tan
button just outside of the maternity ward of Evangelical Community Hospital’s
maternity ward, the very button that allows entry if one of the staff members in purple scrubs at the end of the long menacing hallway permits your
passage. It could say “Enter at your own risk” and be no less
intimidating.
The wide glass doors slowly creak open. The pungent aroma of disinfectant and
antibacterial hit the nose like a punch. Dimmed and cold, the hallway
is a long stretch of tan wallpaper and wooden panels, separating the
entrance from the admission desk. Stacks of papers and charts protrude from the
top of the counter, practically guarding the secretary from anyone who
approaches. Popping up from her chair appears
a young, blonde woman, Krista, the day shift unit secretary who welcomes everyone
entering the unit with a friendly smile and warm greeting, as she directs them
where they need to go. Suddenly it is not so threatening after all.
 |
| Figure One (See note) |
For over a hundred years, Evangelical Community Hospital of
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania has been taking on the role of being one of the
best labor and delivery and early infant care centers in the area. The hospital was founded in 1876 in what is
now the Slifer
House Museum. (Figure 1) The initial purpose of the hospital was
to serve as a general health facility, orphanage, and home for the elderly. During the mid-1900s, the hospital
moved across the street to its current location, One Hospital Drive. The maternity unit, including labor and
delivery, has been historically busy throughout its 138 years, currently
delivering about one thousand babies each year. Thus, the hospital has been
continually adding on to the maternity unit and making renovations, with the
most recent renovation being completed in June of this year. (Figure 2)
 |
| Figure Two (See notes) |
The Family Place is a welcoming,
family-oriented birthing and maternity center that has been lending a
hand to thousands of women throughout their pregnancies. It guides women
throughout their pregnancies and helps prepare them for delivery as well as for
caring for their babies once they are born.
There is a lot of education given to the
parents before the first labor pain occurs. "We meet with women and
discuss a vast array of topics. We discuss the process of labor and
delivery, why breastfeeding is the most beneficial feeding method, the
possible diseases a child could obtain such as whooping cough and ways to
avoid it from occurring, to the basics of inserting a car seat,” explains Pam
Kline, a nurse from the Perinatal Education Program of the Family Place. The
education continues throughout the hospital stay. They go home knowing
how to care for their babies which includes bathing, diapering, circumcision care, feeding, and installing a car seat. Family care and education for a pregnant woman
is there from start to finish.
 |
| Figure Three (See note) |
Over the years, Evangelical has made
advancements in infant security. On every infant’s ankle is a band with its mother’s
name on it and a number that matches its mother’s band. Every time the baby and mother are separated,
the bands are matched to assure that the mother is receiving the correct baby. A tan device, a HUGS tag, is tightly
fastened for security purposes on the other ankle. (Figure 3) According to Joanne Bender RN, “An alarm
will sound and all the doors of the hospital will lock if someone attempts
to take an infant from the unit or if the band is removed.”
Although the first impression of a
birthing room can be intimidating, having family present for the experience
makes the process more bearable. Once inside
a labor room, a large wooden door cuts off all sounds from the rest of the
hospital, including the resonating screams from laboring women in other rooms,
ringing bells, and voices paging staff over the intercom. Several monitors, computers, infant warmers,
and IV pumps enclose the room, all reminders that this is a hospital. A high, raised bed with plain white sheets
centers the room with a remote controlling almost every aspect of the room. The familiar tan walls with wooden paneling
encircle and warm the room. Chairs for family, a sink, and a TV in the far
corner make it feel more like home. A whirlpool tub provides a place for hydrotherapy to relieve some
of the pain of labor.
 |
| Figure Four (see notes) |
What makes this scary time of having a
baby less daunting and one that so many couples remember as such a wonderful
experience despite the pain and the unfamiliar surrounding? “The
nurturing, kindness, and friendliness that the nurses provide make all the
difference. (Figure 4) When we are given the opportunity to help a mother through
the birthing experience, it is a truly a blessing for us as well as the couple.
We stay by mom’s side to encourage her to do what she needs to do. We do it
together,” says Kelly Everitt RN.
After a mother delivers, she and her baby stay in a postpartum room. This is where the mother, father, and child stay until they leave the hospital. Warm, plum colored walls, modern furniture and bathrooms, and a flat screen TV adorn the room. It is its own private retreat from the rest of the hospital. Here, a couple can learn what it is like to be a parent with the convenience of having a nurse a step away. The baby is cared for around the clock in a loving, home-like environment. The same nurse cares for mother and infant, allowing most of the infant care to be done right in the mother’s room. This is Evan’s “mother baby nursing” concept. Kristen Showalter acknowledged this as one of the reasons why she delivers at Evangelical, “I love the fact that I can get great care so close to home. After having my first child at Evan, I felt like I knew what I was doing. Evan’s nurses stayed with me and showed me how to care for my baby. They were kind and helpful. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
The nurses and faculty of the Family Place are quite amusing women who obviously enjoy their jobs. They gather together to share some of their comical delivery stories. “When I came in to deliver my third child, I was in the whirlpool tub when I felt like I had to push. Robbie told me to move it back to bed because she didn’t want me to deliver in the tub. I somehow got up and waddled like a penguin over to bed.” While telling the story the nurse had her knees together as she walked, and they all laughed. The nurses said the best way to make it through the day is with a little humor and smile on your face. "It doesn't even seem like work when you're joking with your friends and enjoying your patients. Everything I do I try to do with a smile," interjects Pam Kline.
Although generally a happy place, the unit
is also faced with times of grief. “This can be the happiest place, but this
can be the saddest place. When a mother loses a child, it is devastating for
the whole family,” declares Joanne Bender RN. “Pictures are taken, the baby is held, and
footprints are obtained. We support the
grieving family any way we can.”
The Family Place has been helping the community from conception to the early days of child birth for years, giving women the help and education they need in order to become better mothers. The Evangelical nurses are not just a group of nurses getting a pay check at the end of a week. They are a helpful community lending a hand to help others.
Citations:
"Hugs
Tag - Bing Images." Hugs Tag - Bing Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 18
Sept. 2014.
"Slifer
House - Bing Images." Slifer House - Bing Images. N.p., n.d. Web.
18 Sept. 2014
"Evangelical
Hospital Family Place New Rooms - Bing Images." Evangelical Hospital
Family Place New Rooms - Bing Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.
"Nurses
and Babies - Bing Images." Nurses and Babies - Bing Images. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2014.
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