BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Oishei Children’s Hospital announced it has submitted a Certificate of Need to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) to open a High-Risk Maternity Unit as the number of newborn deliveries grows.
Oishei plans to construct 12 private inpatient rooms for the hospital’s high-risk antepartum maternity population. The project is estimated to cost $6.6 million and once complete will occupy 11,000 square feet on the hospital’s seventh floor. The majority of patient services on the seventh floor will not be impacted, but the outpatient infusion services will move to the second floor.
"OCH’s high-risk moms currently occupy beds throughout the hospital’s Labor & Delivery and Mother-Baby floors. These additional inpatient rooms at OCH will be designed flexibly to accommodate any patient overflow or surge planning should the need arise again in the future," a release says.
According to Oishei, the number of deliveries at the hospital has increased 35% since 2012. In 2021, total newborn deliveries were around 3,500.
“As the region’s only Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and state-designated Regional Perinatal Center, our hospital provides the most specialized high-quality care for our community’s high-risk newborns and their mothers. The much needed expansion will allow us to better care for more high-risk moms before and after delivery, and accommodate the growing number of women who require the comprehensive and complex care services.”
Oishei said the benefits of the project include:
- Opens up space on the existing Labor & Delivery Unit to accommodate the increasing volume of deliveries and ensure 24/7 emergency access for emergent deliveries, especially for women with high-risk clinical conditions
- Allows for more seamless transition and shorter wait times for patients moving from the Labor & Delivery Unit to the Mother-Baby Unit
- Reduces length of stay to ensure mom and baby get home sooner
- Brings together a highly trained and specialized care team dedicated to our high-risk population
- Additional space for families
