Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Opens Additional Private Rooms for Mothers

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

New Brunswick - Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital officials and area physicians took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony today to officially open a new unit consisting of 11 new and attractive private rooms for the care of mothers and newborns, increasing the total number to 20.

The unit represents the second completed phase of the hospital's Center for Women and Babies, a two-year, $20 million renovation and expansion of hospital maternity services that will eventually increase the number of post-partum beds from 20 to 40, all of which will be private. The expansion will also increase the number of labor and delivery rooms from seven to 12, and add a fourth surgical suite for cesarean section deliveries.

Each of the 11 new private rooms unveiled today offers attractive, hotel-style décor and an array of special amenities that include refrigerators, DVD/VCR players, a private bathroom, ample closet space and sleeper-chairs that allow fathers or other family members to comfortably spend the night. As with all patients at the hospital, mothers who stay in this new unit order all their meals from an extensive, restaurant-style menu and have them made to order. They can also enjoy "Tea at Three," an afternoon tradition for maternity patients in which hospital Auxiliary members go room to room with coffee, tea and an assortment of gourmet cookies, fresh fruit, or cheese and crackers.

These attractive rooms contain the latest high-tech monitoring equipment and - as with all the hospital's post-partum rooms - are supervised around the clock by a team of board-certified maternal-fetal medicine physicians.

"Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital combines the highest quality health care with an environment of comfort and caring," said Clifton R. Lacy, MD, president and CEO of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. "The expansion of our maternity unit provides parents with a warm, welcoming place to celebrate the arrival of their new baby and access to the highest level of obstetric care available."

When not enjoying the amenities provided in their rooms, mothers can spend time with their babies in a state-of-the-art nursery staffed by neonatologists from the Division of Neonatology in the Department of Pediatrics at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

For newborns requiring special care, the adjacent Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is designated as a Regional Perinatal Center, the state's highest rank for obstetric and neonatal services. The hospital is the main site of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School's Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and serves as a major referral center for high-risk obstetrics in Central New Jersey. This program is supported by the Division of Neonatology and a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where some of the smallest and sickest infants receive care.

"Along with the physical comfort of these new rooms, families can also enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing they are having a baby in a Regional Perinatal Center which can treat the most critically ill infants in the most comprehensive manner," said Anthony M. Vintzileos, MD, chief of OB/GYN Service at RWJUH and chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Robert Rathauser, MD, a private practice obstetrician/gynecologist, predicted his patients will love the new unit.

"This is great for patients," he said. "Parents tend to prefer private rooms and the rooms available at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital offer excellent amenities."

The next phase of construction of 20 additional private rooms will be completed later this year.

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Selected as one of four hospitals nationwide to offer the world's first self-contained implantable artificial heart, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.rwjuh.edu) is a 600-bed academic medical center and the principal hospital of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ. Robert Wood Johnson is an innovative leader in advancing state-of-the-art care in medicine. Its Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, and women's and children's care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org). The hospital is also a Level 1 Trauma Center and serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness.

The hospital has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is ranked among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for both heart and heart surgery and respiratory disorders, according to U.S.News & World Report's 2008 ranking of "America's Best Hospitals." The American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer has rated Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital among the nation's best comprehensive cancer centers. The Leapfrog Group rated Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as one of the 50 exceptional U.S. hospitals, as published in Consumers Digest magazine. Harvard University researchers, in a study commissioned by The Commonwealth Fund, identified Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as one of the top 10 hospitals in the nation for clinical quality. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is also a recipient of the prestigious Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence for more than 10 consecutive years.

Attention members of the media: For more information on this release, please contact the Department of Public Relations (732) 937-8521.

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