Redecorated to feel more like a cozy bedroom than a hospital room, Sonoma Valley Hospital’s Room 317 is the showcase for the newly christened SVH Birthplace.
“The room exemplifies our philosophy of family-centered maternity care,” said Rebecca Hengehold, director of maternity care. “It feels like a home, while still being a fully functional hospital room. We’re delighted.”
The changes are simple but meaningful, Hengehold said, transforming an unfeeling hospital room into a calm, personal space where a family can join the new mother in welcoming their baby into the world.
“It’s pretty amazing,” said Chief Executive Officer Carl Gerlach. “It’s this whole notion that an attitude can be established with design that makes people feel better and have a better time.”
The project, funded by a $25,000 grant from the Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation, began with new ceiling tiles, paint and flooring. Basic furnishings came next, including a flat screen TV and a new sleeper sofa that converts to a large bed. A cozy rocking chair allows the new mom to sit and rock while breastfeeding her baby.
“When you walk into a place and get a good vibe, it makes you feel it’s a safe place to bring your baby into the world,” said Hengehold.
The welcoming mood is set with the colors – in a bronze/burgundy palette – specially mixed by Sonoma painter Steve Kardum. “They’re flattering, and they give the room warmth and serenity,” Kardum said. “Every time I take family photos in a room of this color people always look great.”
Suzanne Brangham and Celeste Phillips worked with Kardum to choose the colors and to help with the overall feel of the room, adding new bedside tables, a coffee table and, proving the little things often make a big difference, a reading lamp. “There’s something about clicking on that lamp that makes it more inviting,” said Hengehold.
The next round of the facelift includes artwork in the room, new paint for the main hallway and a family waiting room complete with a sibling corner. Hengehold said all will be completed in time for an Open House on September 10.
The project coincides with an increase in births at the hospital over the last four months. “At no time in the last three years have we had a four-month increase at this level,” she said.
In other hospital news, the Finance Committee on Tuesday night was confronted with how California’s massive budget cuts might affect the hospital’s bottom line. Jim McSweeney, chief financial officer, said he expects at least a 10 percent cut in Medi-Cal reimbursements. The hospital will also feel cuts to other state health programs, including the Healthy Families program. With details still sketchy, and a court challenge by healthcare provider groups probable, it’s impossible to forecast an exact number.
Cuts loom on the national level as well. McSweeney said an element of President Obama’s administration’s proposed health care legislation, a reduction in Medicare reimbursements, could cost the hospital $2.5 million annually. Any congressional vote on healthcare reform, though, is unlikely before September. The hospital must wait at least to forecast any effects to its own budget.
In other hospital news: today, July 31, is the deadline to apply to become a member of the Sonoma Valley Health Care District board of directors. Letters of interest should be addressed to Bill Boerum, Chairman of the Board, c/o Sonoma Valley Hospital, 347 Andrieux Street, Sonoma, CA. 95476. The letters must be postmarked today or hand delivered to the hospital by 5 p.m.
A letter of interest had been filed by Gina Cuclis, who served three years on the hospital’s strategic planning committee, an experience she said gives her insight into the workings and issues relating specifically to the hospital. Prior to that, she served for nine years on the city’s planning commission.
