TROY — Upper Valley Medical Center’s Level II obstetric and newborn services extend beyond those of a Level I facility, with capabilities that allow more infants to stay closer to home in their first days.
The hospital’s Level II nursery will be undergoing an upgrade beginning this summer.
The Level II nursery is the only one between Dayton and Lima offering care for babies born late pre-term or who require specialized care but do not need intensive nursery care interventions such as a ventilator that is offered at a Level III nursery, said Paul Weber, MD, with The Pediatrics Group.
Babies in the Level II nursery could have conditions such as jaundice, low blood sugar, mild respiratory distress or issues withdrawing from maternal narcotics.
“Our goal is to take care of those babies in the community and not have the moms, babies, and families separated,” Weber said. “If the babies are sicker, they usually go to the Level III (nursery) either at Miami Valley Hospital or Dayton Children’s Hospital.”
The destination hospital will be determined by the infant’s needs at the time of transfer.
The Level II nursery also has the capability to hold video consultations with the neonatology group at Mami Valley Hospital. A camera shows the infant in real time to physicians in Dayton, who also have access to the chart and any X-Rays or lab results.
“This consulting ability adds to the level of reassurance for parents,” Weber said.
UVMC’s Level II nursery is licensed to care for infants at 32 weeks gestation and above.
“Our nursing staff have been trained at Dayton Children’s, Miami Valley Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and in our own nursery to obtain competence in caring for these special patients,” said Jenny Dietz, nurse manager, UVMC Women’s and Children’s Services.
A special care nurse is on the unit around the clock to deliver specialized care whenever necessary.
The UVMC Women’s Services unit has 11 labor rooms, two triage rooms and eight postpartum rooms – all with private bathrooms. The unit is licensed to care for 31 neonates with a capacity for six in the special care nursery, Dietz said. The Level II nursery cares for approximately 100 babies each year.
“The team at UVMC is a wonderful, caring group of experienced clinicians who are honored and privileged to serve this community,” Dietz said.
The special care nursery’s redesign will feature individual rooms with more privacy for families and a quieter environment for each patient, Dietz said.
Providers currently delivering at UVMC are: Augustina Addison, MD; Terence Young, MD; Larry Holland, DO; Katherine Bachman, MD; Daniel Dilworth, MD; and Raychel Miramontes, certified nurse midwife. Miramontes recently joined Dr. Dilworth’s practice and returned the nurse midwife delivery option to UVMC, Dietz said.
Kelli Freeling’s son was born at 36 weeks as she dealt with polyhydramnios, an excessive accumulation of amniotic fluid in the uterus. He was taken to the special care nursery when he swallowed additional fluid during a C-section.
“I cannot stress the importance of the Level II nursery to our hospital, community, but more important to myself as a mother,” Freeling said.
“There is nothing worse as a new mommy than being separated from your baby … Within 90 to 120 minutes, our sweet little guy was back in our arms. The staff there kept a close eye on him, and he had lots of extra little checks being a preemie as well,” she said. “The ability to have our baby in the same facility, taken care of by such amazing staff is something that you can never replace.”
For more information on UVMC Women’s and Children’s Services, call 937-440-4914.
