JGH “gives birth” to new Post-Partum Unit

Number of private rooms nearly quadruples in new facility

The JGH “gave birth” to a new Post-Partum Unit on the morning of December 9, as about a dozen mothers, each with her infant, were moved into renovated facilities that are larger, brighter and more secure, with nearly four times as many private rooms.

During the move, which was completed in about three hours, at least one mother chose to walk to her new room, while the rest remained in their beds and were transferred by members of the Transport Team from the fifth floor of Pavilion C to new quarters that span the eighth floor of Pavilions C and D.

Mirene Mediefi was the first mother to be moved—along with her son, Manoe, and her spouse, Franck Njonou—from the old Post-Partum Unit to the new facility on December 9. (Click on this or any photo to enlarge it.)

Mirene Mediefi, the first mother to arrive in the new unit, said she was thrilled to find herself in a private room (with an inspiring view of St. Joseph’s Oratory), having just left a semi-private room. She said she was also delighted to have more space to be with her son, Manoe, who was born on December 6, and her spouse, Franck Mjonou.

“However, I’m going home this afternoon,” she said with a laugh, “so I won’t see much of this room, but I’m very glad to be here now.”

Another memorable moment was the arrival of Elizabeth Fogarty, the first mother to be brought straight to the new Post-Partum Unit from the Birthing Centre in Pavilion K, where she had given birth to a boy (not yet named) a couple of hours earlier.

Surrounded by members of Nursing, Medical and Transport staff, Ms. Fogarty beamed as her bed was wheeled down a hallway where it broke through a red ribbon. A large “Bienvenue Welcome” sign was also taped to the wall of the corridor, where shiny gold helium balloons in the shape of “8D” bobbed in the air.

The new Post-Partum Unit is the latest element to be completed in what is known as Phase 4, a $300 million project to refurbish various areas in the JGH’s legacy building (the older sections of the hospital) by 2030.

Miyoura Suy and her daughter, Nyxa Nguyen-Suy, who was born on December 8, are wheeled into their room in the new Post-Partum Unit by Mindy Olszewski (left) and Keon Payne of the Transport Team.

Phase 4 was undertaken in order to extensively renovate and repurpose the many spaces that were freed up in the legacy building when the JGH’s critical-care departments were relocated to the newly opened Pavilion K in 2014 and 2016.

The new space can accommodate 34 beds, of which 30 are in private rooms, compared to just eight private beds in the old Post-Partum Unit, says Lyne Charbonneau, Clinical-Administrative Coordinator in the Nursing Directorate’s Mother-Child Trajectory and Dialysis.

In total, Ms. Charbonneau says, the new facility will have double the area of the old one. This means each new room will not only be spacious enough for the spouse and additional visitors, it will easily accommodate any type of modern equipment that may have to be brought in for a medical intervention.

“We’re always encouraging members of the family to come and support the mother,” adds Vasthie Pierre-Louis, Head Nurse of the Post-Partum Unit, “but until now, there hasn’t been enough room for all of them to be comfortable.”

Since the women and their babies are also vulnerable, the new unit is more secure, Ms. Pierre-Louis explains. While the facility will not be locked, it will be closed and carefully monitored. This will also prevent casual onlookers from wandering through.

Among the other features:

• Some cribs can be adapted for babies with certain medical conditions, such as those born through a cesarean section. This allows the mother to care for her child as autonomously as possible.
• Four negative pressure rooms have been included to promote proximity between mothers and their babies, even when isolation is required.
• A patient who needs extra supervision can be placed in a room under direct observation by the team.
• To accommodate patients who have a disability, the doors are wider and access to a shower is easier.
• For infection prevention and control, more sinks have been installed in the corridors near the patients’ rooms.

“It’s also important to note that there will no longer be the kind of obvious contrast that existed between the modern facilities of the Birthing Centre in Pavilion K and the older surroundings of the previous Post-Partum Unit,” says Ms. Charbonneau.

“This may not seem like a major point, but it’s actually a big advantage when you’re trying to create a warm and comforting patient experience. In addition to meeting the mother’s physical needs, we want to make sure she feels supported psychologically and emotionally at every step.”