April 3, 2017
Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre’s new obstetrical operating rooms are stocked and ready for their first patients. The ORs open on April 3.
Story and photo by: Melissa Ballantyne
RED DEER — Central Alberta families will benefit from quicker access to obstetrical procedures with the opening of two new obstetrical operating rooms (OBORs) at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre.
The rooms, which opened April 3, are located adjacent to the existing labour and delivery unit and nearby neonatal intensive care unit.
“Patients needing obstetrical procedures or caesarian sections can now be moved seamlessly from the labour and delivery unit into the obstetrical OR,” says Sandi Sebastian, Director of Women’s and Children’s Services. “Previously, when a pregnant woman required an emergent C-Section, she would be transported from the labour and delivery unit to the main operating room via public hallways. This new space will do so much in terms of protecting the privacy and dignity of our patients.”
The $9.7-million project also included the construction of baby assessment areas within each operating room, giving mothers a sightline to their babies, and a recovery room that will allow both parents to spend quiet time with their newborns. In the past, new moms would be separated from their babies and partners after surgery and taken to the general recovery room.
“Everything about this new space has been planned with regard to patient- and family-centred care,” Sebastian says. “Within the OBORs and the recovery room there is space for families to share in the birth of their newborns. Our hope is this environment will support central Alberta families to stay together after surgery, promote uninterrupted skin-to-skin care for the newborn, and provide the opportunity to breastfeed right after surgery should mothers choose to do so.”
Sebastian says the enhancements, as well as faster mobilization of obstetrical and neonatal intensive care teams due to the OBORs’ proximity to the labour and delivery unit and the NICU, play a role in improving health outcomes for mothers and babies. About 900 C-sections are performed at the hospital each year.
The two obstetrical operating rooms each feature a range of state-of-the-art equipment including patient and fetal monitors, sterile storage, and two infant isolettes, which allows twins to remain together while being monitored.
The project began in 2014, funded by the Government of Alberta. The Red Deer Regional Health Foundation provided an additional $1.2 million for equipment.
Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre is the only regional referral centre for obstetrics in Central Zone and supports 15 rural hospitals. There are approximately 6,000 births in Central Zone each year, 2,700 of which take place at RDRHC.
“Our staff have been training extensively in preparation for the opening of the OBORs, and our first surgical patients are already booked,” Sebastian says. “I am so excited for the patients and families who will benefit from this beautiful, functional space that will support obstetrical and newborn care.”
