Women remember their birthing experiences for a lifetime. Giving birth is one of the most precious, significant and wondrous moments. The sharing of this most intimate and important event calls for a trusted set of doctors, nurses and medical staff who care for you during all stages of pregnancy, birth and postpartum. That is precisely why the Grays Harbor Community Hospital Family Birth Center is distinguished as providing superior compassionate and personalized care to families during the birthing process.
The Grays Harbor Community Hospital Family Birth Center services an area of 90,000 residents between Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties, as well as those who come from further distances to specifically birth their babies at Grays Harbor Community Hospital.
“At Grays Harbor Community Hospital Family Birth Center, the focus is on providing a compassionate, comfortable, safe birthing experience for our patients,” explains Cynthia Walsh, Chief Nursing Officer. Walsh has been at the Grays Harbor Community Hospital the last six years bringing an illustrious career specializing in Nursing Leadership as well as Maternal-Neonatal Nursing. She recognizes with pride the uniqueness of their Family Birth Center and has the utmost respect and confidence for the physicians and nursing team.
Lisha Schnoor, staff nurse in the Family Birth Center further explains, “We have such amazing nurses and physicians that work here. We are like family in that we have worked together for so long and understand each other so well. We are tight collective group. It is as if we can almost just look at each other and know who needs to do what. This type of understanding is the difference in making the birthing experience special and patient centered.”
Angie O’Hagan is a charge nurse at the Family Birth Center. Having grown up in Aberdeen she has been a local nurse for fifteen years. “It has been my passion to help the community I grew up in and I am truly committed to giving the best care possible to my patients and community members. I literally see my patients regularly at the grocery store and the local fair. They always make a point of talking to me. I love it when someone asks if I remember them. I always do.”
O’Hagan shares that all the nurses have numerous heart warming stories. One of the most intense memories for O’Hagan actually came years later. “I had found a heart murmur on a baby that had not yet been discovered. Baby and mom are fine now but it was extremely critical in finding the heart murmur. Years later I was downtown. The mom was driving by and literally rolled down her window and yelled out in appreciation about helping save her baby. That moment still gives me goose bumps. We truly invest ourselves in our work to create a safe and high quality experience.”
The Grays Harbor Family Birth Center offers spacious and comforting private birthing suites and post-partum rooms for families who are welcoming a new child so that mom, partner or support person can relax and bond with their newborn baby. Highly personalized care is provided by the specially trained and attentive team of registered nurses and physicians. The Family Birth Center provides labor, delivery, postpartum services for both vaginal and cesarean deliveries in addition to a newborn nursery, lactation consultants, a Warmline for call-in questions, and well-baby checkups. Families can tour the Family Birth Center upon request.
Schnoor comments, “This is not just a job for us. This is entirely a privilege. Giving birth is such a peak experience in a woman’s life and one of the most intimate moments for her and her family. The type of birthing experience you have shapes a lot of what will happen in the weeks to come between mother and baby. It is so important that we create a setting that feels safe with a lot of support. And we know we do because of the families who contact us trustingly following the birth of their babies and the ones who return to have their additional children. The ripple affect is profound.”
To learn more about the Grays Harbor Community Hospital Family Birth Center call 360-532-5280 or visit the Family Birth Center website.
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