Luxury Suite for expectant mothers at Northwest Medical Center.

By: Jen Russon

Expectant parents have so many important decisions to make, from choosing where to deliver, to relying on a trusted healthcare provider to help mother and baby get into a natural rhythm of care and feeding.

The labor and delivery team at Northwest Medical Center anticipates and meets both prenatal and post-partum needs, checking every box on the birth plan along the way.

Now in the final phase of a multimillion-dollar expansion that began in 2016, the medical center has added 61 new private rooms that include a dedicated Pediatric ER, a bigger and better maternity unit, and an expanded Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

The expansion will bring the maternity unit to a total of 13 labor and delivery rooms, as well as 20 post-partum suites and renovated waiting areas large enough to comfortably receive guests. The maternity tours that regularly stream through the patient tower come as no surprise.

Each time a baby is born, a lullaby plays over the PA system and reverberates down the immaculate halls.

Roxanne Bernard, nurse, and director of the women and children’s department said the sound happens around three or four times a day, with an average of 1,500 births per year at her facility.

Distinguished as the only hospital in northern Broward county with a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), it’s a comfort for parents to know specialists are present should something change – as they often can during childbirth – in the blink of an eye.

Staff at Northwest love to talk about the miracles that have and will continue to take place.

“We delivered a baby boy with extreme prematurity, who is now a happy, healthy two and a half year old. His mother is so grateful, she still brings him in to see us,” said Bernard.

Her colleague Kristyna Espinoza fondly remembers patients too – like the mom who struggled to nurse her newborn daughter but was ecstatic when the now robust six-month-old reached 25 pounds.

An internationally board-certified lactation consultant, Espinoza said her favorite part of the day, is seeing a new mom smiling down at her baby, and knowing they will be successful on their breastfeeding journey.

Connections like these have spread the word about Northwest’s stellar maternity unit.

Patients enjoy modern comforts, like 55’ inch screen TVs in private, luxury suites, and warm cookies delivered daily.

Yet favorable ratings are due to much more than that.

It’s not just the modern interior, free maternity classes, newborn photography, plush birthing balls, and celebratory dinner after the baby is born.

It’s also the certified neonatologists, anesthesiologists, and OB/GYN hospitalists in-house 24/7.

OB Hospitalist Group (OBHG) is in-house, with around the clock coverage for emergencies, labor checks, and deliveries, as well as assistance with C-sections.

When a patient’s doctor can’t be there, OBHG bridges the gap of care until her personal physician arrives.

Patients love knowing neonatologists are on hand to address concerns that may pop up before and after they give birth; they also take comfort in attending support groups and classes offered each month that help navigate that tricky first year of motherhood.

Women who have given birth at Northwest, praise the maternity team for getting things off to a great start, by strongly recommending rooming-in, encouraging skin-to-skin contact, and remembering their family and friends by name.

It’s a level of compassionate care that helped catapult Northwest into the top 5 percent of short-term acute care facilities and win the Healthgrades 2019 Patient Safety Excellence Award.

These high tech bells and whistles aside, the staff here are as friendly as they are skilled at what they do.

“When we tell our patients ‘a doctor will be right with you,’ we literally mean it. Ensuring our patients have immediate access to OB/GYN specialties 24/7 is what sets us apart from our competitors,” said Roxanne Bernard, BSN.

Bernard and her staff recommend expectant mothers pre-register and tour the unit approximately three months before their due date. Coral Springs residents can register here for a VIP tour or by calling 954-601-8094.

Northwest Medical Center is located at 2801 N State Road 7 in Margate.