NW Illinois News

Giving birth to a child can be one of the most special times in a woman’s life. 

Giving birth to a child can be one of the most special times in a woman’s life. The joy of bringing a new, precious life into the world hopefully outweighs any discomfort from the pregnancy and delivery. However, within Illinois, potential new moms from rural areas are facing more challenges when it comes to delivering a child.

Illinois only has 85 small and rural hospitals, and of those only 26 are still delivering babies. Here at FHN, we are committed to maintaining delivery services for the communities we serve. Those in one of the other 59 service areas may need to travel a much greater distance to give birth or may end up giving birth in an environment that is not optimum for the health of the mother or the baby. In addition, if there are complications, the appropriate services and equipment may not be available to the mother and baby.

FHN takes our role in providing moms-to-be with the highest quality of care, comfort, and safety very seriously. One of the ways FHN does this is by having an OB Triage Room. This room is used by over 300 patients a year. Many times this is the first room where a mom-to-be starts her birthing journey. It is in this room where any potential complications can be diagnosed, and sometimes deliveries actually take place here.

While this room serves a very important role in care and safety, we recognize that the experience could be improved for all who use it.

Our goal is to remodel the FHN OB Triage Room in order to:

• increase privacy for patients
• increase comfort for both patients and a significant other or family member who accompanies each patient
• improve the functionality and aesthetics of the room

This project is expected to cost $40,627 to complete. The remodel will include new furniture, cabinets, counter, sink, flooring, re-orientation of the room, and encasing some of the free standing tanks of gases.

Thankfully, we already have a donor who has made a gift to fund half of this project! Dr. Farouk Isawi, a long-time FHN OB/GYN Provider, who understands the importance of this space has generously made the initial gift to remodel this space.

“First impressions are lasting. Updating this room for a more efficient and comfortable experience will complement the excellent care our Obstetrical team provides to all of our patients and their families.” ~ Linnette Carter, Director of Women’s Health Service Line.

Please consider joining with us to remodel this location, which will add to each mom’s experience of receiving excellent care. Whatever gift you can make toward this facility enhancement will help provide excellent care to all of the new mothers and babies FHN serves.

Your financial partnership will not only make a difference today, it will also provide a foundation for tomorrow through improvement of services to women in our communities.

Original source can be found here