In just a few weeks doctors and nurses at Martha Jefferson Hospital will say goodbye to the downtown Charlottesville building that's been home for the last century and move in to their new hospital in Albemarle County. They held an open house Sunday to give everyone a sneak peek.
Sunday's open house was a chance for the public to finally see the finished building and help put some minds at ease about the move out of the city. Katie Rooney, who is nine months pregnant, could be one of the first moms to give birth in the new Martha Jefferson Hospital.
The building opens August 28 and her due date is September 5. For now, she is just nervous, "It is completely overwhelming ... you're in charge of raising a person," she said.
Martha Jefferson Maternity Education Program Coordinator Betsy Collins said, "She's been doing great. They took my child birth series, and she just has the perfect state of mind. She's excited." Collins helped put the expectant parents at ease during Sunday's open house.
"We're very excited. It has such a feeling of space and room and healing. The colors. There's no drab gray hospital feel at all," described Collins. The new hospital has the same number of patient rooms as the old one, but now they are all totally private, and more spacious.
Even the hospital's new MRI machine is wider so it doesn't feel so claustrophobic. And each of the 11 new labor and delivery suites has a full size Whirlpool tub. New technologies are also designed to make jobs easier for doctors and nurses. The new surgery lights can be adjusted with just the swipe of a finger and the light automatically focuses depending on where it's pointed.
"This is just so much more modern, I think … the old hospital is just as nice. I won't be too disappointed if we have the baby there either, but this is just so nice. Brand spankin' new!" exclaimed Rooney.
With her due date so close to when the hospital opens, Rooney is not sure where she's having this baby. The Locust Avenue location is still open until August 28. That's when the new hospital on Pantops will begin accepting patients.
