“Women will be pampered unmercifully,” said Pam Barlet, director of community relations and program development at McCune Brooks Regional Hospital in Carthage. “The new Spradling Birthing Center is opening on September 2. We are so excited to be welcoming babies back to this hospital.”



The Spradling Birthing Center, a new physicians’ clinic, and state-of-the-art digital imaging diagnostics top the list of new or enhanced services offered by McCune Brooks, a 100-year plus city hospital that re-invented itself in a new facility in January 2008 as a 21st Century, state-of-the-art regional hospital.



“Some of the longer term building projects are now nearing completion. For example, we are putting the final touches on the birthing center,” Barlet said. “The décor, supplies, and intensive training for staff are at the top of the list these days.”



The Spradling Birthing Center offers a level of personalized care that is rapidly becoming the new hospital's trademark. “Care for women, by women, is our theme,” Barlet said.



“’Physicians for Women’s Health’ is the name of a unique new group of female OB GYN physicians that will be handling our hospital services,” she added. The group consists of Drs. Elizabeth Barlet, Lydia Keisler, and Maritza Manrique-Kiniry.



The Spradling Birthing Center has four Labor/Delivery/Recovery/Postpartum (LDRP) suites that are designed to keep families together for the birthing process. “If a baby can be left with her own mom, it’s best,” said Susan Deyoe-Phebus, RN, IBCLC, the birthing center nurse manager. “Our goal is that families will feel at home. We want to keep a family atmosphere.”



To facilitate this atmosphere, “high-tech” birthing equipment is kept out of site in a closet, the room is furnished with a sofa bed, a refrigerator, a whirlpool tub, a baby-friendly hand sink designed for ease in bathing babies, a glider-rocker, and a dining table. Amenities such as designer décor, computers, and flat screen TVs give the room a touch of luxury.



“We are a level one nursery, a self-contained unit within the hospital,” Phebus said. “Today’s world requires tight security measures in birthing units, and this unit was built with many layers of security in place. Everything from the high tech arm bands on the babies, which can trigger alarms throughout the hospital, to simple changes such as uniquely colored shirts and scrubs for all birthing unit employees, adds layers of protection and security.”



As a level one unit, McCune Brooks handles healthy, normal births, and refers sick or extremely premature babies to level two and three units in other regional hospitals. “We are building relationships with several hospitals that offer these advanced services. If we have a baby or mommy in trouble, we can stabilize them and transfer them to a level two or three nursery nearby in minutes,” Phebus said.



In addition to the Spradling Birthing Unit, a Visiting Physicians Clinic has been established, with medical experts in Rheumatology, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Urology and Gastroenterology practicing up to three days a week at McCune Brooks facilities.



“The physicians servicing this clinic are outstanding,” Barlet said. “Some are respected, published writers in their fields, others have won many awards. The fact that they are holding clinic in Carthage means the people we serve do not have to travel to receive excellent care. We are so excited about this.”



Dr. Mark Jarek and Dr. Anne Winkler will see Rheumatology patients, Dr. Thomas B. Coy will do Thoracic/Vascular Surgery, Dr. Roger Schoenfield will handle Urology patients, and Dr. Larry Deffenbaugh will see patients with problems in gastroenterology.



Clinic doctors have noted that the diagnostic technology available at McCune Brooks is superior to that which they have used even in much larger markets. “The Digital Imaging mammogram, for example, has already detected an early cancer in a local woman that would have been previously overlooked,” Barlet said. “The patient involved was advanced by at least a year in treatment, improving her chances of recovery.”



The hospital facility, with its fountain and stream that pumps 30,000 gallons per hour through a courtyard the length of the entire building, supports the hospital's healing philosophy. “Rooms almost all have courtyard views, and the ones that don’t see the courtyard have lakeside views in back. Water is very peaceful and has a healing effect,” Barlet said. “It’s a very pleasant place. We’ve been told by the community that we finally have a building that matches the quality of our staff.”



Bob Copeland, CEO of McCune Brooks, puts it this way: “It was our goal to create a total healing environment in the new hospital, not just a place to house sick people. We wanted it to meet the needs of mind, body and soul. In evidence-based medicine, it has been proven that patients in private rooms with little or no noise, who have the ability to choose artwork and look at nature, have much better medical outcomes. The new building will encompass all of those healing aspects.”



“Our CEO emphasizes that our mission is the whole family, not just parts of it. Nurture, sacred trust—these are all a part of our philosophy of healing. We acknowledge the healing power of water and light, and the importance of individual spirituality. It all helps create a healing environment for the whole person,” Barlet said. “That’s our goal.”