title: Planning, Designing, Building, and Moving a Large Volume Maternity Service to a New Labor and Birth Unit.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Our health system recognized the need to update facility space and associated technology for the labor and birth unit within our large volume perinatal service to improve the patient experience, and enhance safety, quality of care, and staff satisfaction. When an organization decides to invest $30 million dollars in a construction project such as a new labor and birth unit, many factors and considerations are involved. Financial support, planning, design, and construction phases of building a new unit are complex and therefore require strong interdisciplinary collaboration, leadership, and project management.
  
  
  METHODS
  The new labor and birth unit required nearly 3 years of planning, designing, and construction. Patient and family preferences were elicited through consumer focus groups. Multiple meetings with the administrative and nursing leadership teams, staff nurses, nurse midwives, and physicians were held to generate ideas for improvement in the new space. Involving frontline clinicians and childbearing women in the process was critical to success. The labor and birth unit moved to a new patient tower in a space that was doubled in square footage and geographically now on three separate floors. In the 6 months prior to the move, many efforts were made in our community to share our new space. The marketing strategy was very detailed and creative with ongoing input from the nursing leadership team. The nursing staff was involved in every step along the way. It was critical to have champions as workflow teams emerged. We hosted simulation drills and tested scenarios with new workflows. Move day was rehearsed with representatives of all members of the perinatal team participating.
  
  
  RESULTS
  These efforts ultimately resulted in a move time of ~5 hours. Birth volumes increased 7% within the first 6 months. After 3 years in our new space, our birth volumes have risen nearly 15% and are still growing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Key processes and roles responsible for a successful build, efficient and safe move day, and optimal operational utility, as anticipated, of a new labor and birth unit in a large volume perinatal service are detailed.
authors.affiliation: Heather Thompson is Director of Nursing, St. Luke's Hospital, Chesterfield, MO, and was the Executive Director of Nursing, Women's Services at Mercy Hospital-St. Louis when this article was written. The author can be reached via e-mail at heather.thompson@stlukes-stl.com Kimberly Legorreta is a Specialty Supervisor, Labor and Birth, Mercy Hospital-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO. Mary Ann Maher is an Advanced Nurse Clinician, Labor and Birth, Mercy Hospital-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO. Melanie M. Lavin is a Nursing Support Coordinator, Nursing Administration, Mercy Hospital-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Legorreta
authors.forename: Mary Ann
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Maher
authors.forename: Melanie M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Lavin
mesh_terms: D003696:Delivery Rooms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017144:Focus Groups; D006271:Health Facility Closure / Q000379:methods; D006749:Hospital Design and Construction / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D000068101:Maternal-Child Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D008923:Missouri; D009936:Organizational Innovation