In a major milestone, Knox Community Hospital delivered 502 babies in 2021, Dr. Kristen Witham, obstetrics/gynecology physician at the hospital, told the Mount Vernon News.
"Historically, KCH has only been around 400-420 a year," she said. "Five hundred has always been a goal for us. That was a really huge increase and something we were really proud of."
She attributed the jump in part to the hospital's new Wright Family Medical Pavilion and the Ann Schnormeier Center for Birthing Care.
"Our birthing center is truly state of the art," the physician said. "We are having many more patients stay locally for their OB care rather than travelling to Columbus."
One feature patients like is the wireless fetal monitor, which allows mothers to walk freely through the units rather than to be tethered to the bed by a wired monitor, Witham said.
"We can continuously monitor the baby, but Mom can be up," said Witham. "She can even be in the shower. We have really great showers with six water features and touch-pad controls for Mom’s relaxation.
The birthing center is in a separate building from the main hospital.
"You don't feel like you are surrounded by sick people," she said. "What a blessing that has been. We opened in 2020, right around the time the pandemic hit."
The hospital did have to limit visitors to the birthing center during the pandemic, however. It was first limited to one, then increased to two, but is back down to one as the number of virus cases has increased recently.
"I think the biggest complaint we receive from women is that they can't see their older children," said Witham. "Other than that, the lack of visitors hasn't been something that patients are too concerned about."
The hospital urges pregnant women to be vaccinated for COVID-19.
"The American College of Ob-Gyns as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does recommend COVID-19 vaccination for those who are pregnant, breastfeeding and trying to conceive," Witham said.
