Wednesday, May 30, 2001

First baby born at SRMC Women's Life Center

The first baby born at Southern Regional Medical Center's New Women's Life Center occurred at 10:21a.m. May 16, officially kicking off the start of a new era in Women's Healthcare in the Southern Crescent. The new center opened that morning after years of planning and preparation.

The first baby, Khusbu Patel, a little girl, weighed in at six pounds, three ounces and is 19.5 inches long. Her mother, Darshita Patel of Riverdale, says she's happy that her daughter is the first baby to be born in the center.

Mrs. Patel and her baby girl received a number of gifts from the medical center and from community sponsors to commemorate the big day.

Both mom and baby are resting comfortably in one of the facilities' brand new Mother/Baby rooms.

"We started moving patients into the new Women's Life Center around 7 a.m.," says Jim Crissey, vice-president of facilities & construction at Southern Regional. "Everything has gone very smoothly, which is a testament to all the hard work and planning that went into the transition from the old center into the new."

According to Edward J. Bonn, CHE, president and chief executive officer of Southern Regional Health System, "The Women's Life Center is a resource the community very much needs. With the overall growth in population and the rapid increase in the number of deliveries during the past decade, Southern Regional's women's services has outgrown its current facilities."

The new center will provide the space needed to accommodate the community's growing needs with an even greater emphasis on family centered care.

Southern Regional Health System provides comprehensive health resources including: Southern Regional Medical Center, a 410-bed, full-service hospital in Riverdale featuring a state-of-the-art outpatient surgery center, a women's center and one of the busiest and best emergency departments in the state; RiverWoods, Southern Regional Psychiatric Center, a psychiatric facility with a complete continuum of behavioral care services; Southern Regional Homecare, a home health agency providing home health services and home medical equipment and Surgery Center at Mt. Zion, a multi-specialty surgery center in Morrow.