New Mother Baby unit dedicated at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital

Women's Health at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital took a big step forward when it moved into a new Mother Baby unit on the 4th floor of the River Zone. The $6M modernization project grows the unit from 21 beds to 34 beds. Each patient room provides a private bathroom with shower and more floor space for hospital beds and bassinettes. The unit moved from a space in the hospital's older Norfolk zone which has been in continuous use for more than 50 years.

"We're creating a more comfortable experience for new Moms and their babies," says Sue Mitchell, director of women's health. "The unit is divided into pods of nine rooms each, and each pod has its own nurses' station, so we can stay better connected to our patients visually and respond more quickly if they need us." The old space consisted of one long hallway, narrow by modern standards, with much smaller patient rooms and a single nurses' station at one end.

This latest move follows a previous expansion and modernization of the neo-natal intensive care unit. When the current construction project is complete, the hospital will have invested more than $20M improving women's services and all aspects of women's health will be located on the same floor.