Cesarean suite celebration

Samaritan Hospital hosts open house to show off $2.2 million project

MOSES LAKE — As obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Mike Wong tours the newly completed cesarean section suite on the second floor of Samaritan Hospital, he is pleased with what he sees.

A new surgery suite on the second floor allows Wong's patients to have cesarean sections without having to be transported to the surgery suite on the first floor of the hospital.

It is an addition at the hospital that will save time, especially in the event of an emergency.

When there is an emergency the patient only has to be transported 15 feet, Wong said. "A minute can make the difference for a baby."

The $2.2 million project also includes three additional short stay surgery cubicles used for surgery preparation and recovery. A larger nursery in the Mother and Baby Center has space for five bassinets and expansions have been made for staff locker rooms, physician sleep rooms and storage areas.

Recommendations for the project were first presented to the hospital district commissioners in 2002. Construction began in May of 2005.

Patients will no longer have to be moved to another floor to have a cesarean section, but they can be treated by the same staff which allows more continuity in patient care and increases safety standards, said Samaritan Hospital marketing director Scott Campbell.

So far in 2005, Samaritan Hospital has performed between 280 and 300 cesareans with close to 1,000 total deliveries this year.

Campbell estimates the project will meet the growing demands of the hospital for the next 10 years.

RN Martha Wong came to tour the completed project, recalling 30 years ago when she had her baby via cesarean section at Samaritan Hospital.

The lights in the room were huge, Martha Wong said, comparing the much smaller lights installed in the new cesarean suite. Wong also had to be transported down one floor to have her cesarean section.

Delores Oestreich, the executor of the George and Marianne Allison estate, allocated several thousand dollars to the project.

Oestreich said the Allisons did not have any children and thought a donation to the project would be appropriate.

"We think it's all a very great deal and we're happy we could do it," Oestreich said.

A total of 171 different community organizations, businesses and individuals donated $431,722 for the project. The remainder of the project costs were funded with a $1.7 million limited tax obligation bond.

"There's a lot of different things for people to support, especially these last few months with the tsunami in Asia and the hurricanes," said Samaritan Healthcare Foundation executive director Dave Campbell. "We are very pleased that people would also choose to support this project."

Other projects being considered at the hospital are increasing licensed bed capacity and making changes to the emergency department.

The emergency department can meet current demands, but not projected growth needs. Expanding it would mean acquiring additional land so as not to encroach on parking lot space, Scott Campbell said.