Oh Baby! ; Hospitals Investing a Bundle to Pamper Moms

Flat-screen TVs, room service, plush comforters, little bottles of shampoo, bathrobes, complimentary massages and, before long, facials, manicures, pedicures and more. If I couldn’t imagine how much it hurts, I’d have a baby just for a few days of pampering.

Hospitals are investing millions – in brick and mortar as well as technology – to provide new moms a more luxurious stay. Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood spent more than $50 million on a new wing scheduled to open in the next few weeks. The largest section of which, by far, is an entire floor devoted to maternity.

Pascack Valley is not alone. In December, Hackensack University Medical Center plans to open a gargantuan new building serving women and children. Englewood Hospital and Medical Center expects to complete its third – and final – “trimester” of renovations on its maternity units in the next few months. Chilton Memorial Hospital in Pompton Plains aims to reconfigure all of its rooms to private ones by the year’s end. And Paterson’s Barnert Hospital is transitioning toward all single suites.

Why all this upgrading? In the eye of health-care providers, women are the decision-makers. And since their first exposure to a medical center is often during pregnancy, if they have a positive experience, they’ll bring the family back.

“OB is the entry point of purchase,” says Zahava Cohen, director of patient care at Englewood Hospital. “You got to make sure you knock somebody’s socks off.” (Or, in this case, their baby’s booties off.)

Women want posh, and hospitals are delivering, often at no extra cost.

“It doesn’t matter that the floors are clean,” says Laura LaBarbera, director of patient services at Chilton. High-quality care is expected, amenities are desired. The average age of women giving birth is getting older, LaBarbera says. Many new moms have traveled extensively and are used to shopping around.

“They’re not as easy to please,” LaBarbera says. But hospitals are trying.

Years ago, more than one mom and crying newborn in a room were standard. Today, almost all labor and delivery rooms are private. Postpartum rooms in suburban hospitals, where moms rest for 48 hours after a normal vaginal delivery or four days after a Caesarean section, are largely transitioning to private suites. In them, dads may stay overnight in sleeper chairs or pull-out couches, and more visitors are allowed for longer periods of time.

“Women like to share their pregnancies with their families,” says Dr. Manuel Alvarez, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Hackensack University Medical Center. Private rooms make that possible.

That was true for the Dorundas of Wayne, who opted for a private room at Chilton last month.

Sitting on a plush sleeper couch with 5-pound twins Michael and Abigail nestled in their arms, the first-time parents looked rested and relaxed: Jaime, 28, in her fluffy pink slippers and Michael, 30, in khaki shorts and running sneakers.

“I would make sure you at least have the option for a private room,” Jaime said. Twins or no twins, agreed Michael.

At Chilton, a private room costs an additional $125 per night, not covered by insurance. At hospitals such as Pascack Valley, however, where all the rooms are private, there is no difference in cost.

Suburban hospitals are ahead of their city counterparts when it comes to courting moms. At Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, where many celebrities, such as Sarah Jessica Parker, have given birth, double rooms are still the standard. And some hospitals in the city charge as much as $450 per night for a private room.

With single suites a widespread goal for suburban hospitals, the amenities race is on.

Teaneck’s Holy Name Hospital has bedside entertainment systems providing free Internet access, video games and music.

Pascack Valley’s new private rooms and nursery overlook an open- air garden complete with fountain and lush topiaries shaped like a giraffe and teddy bear.

Englewood’s new family waiting room contains a cappuccino maker, and a bathrobe hangs in patient bathrooms.

The labor and delivery room at Chilton is like a bedroom decorated with crystal lamps on dressers and sconces on the wall, all dimmed to create a serene setting.

Hackensack’s new unit will have Wi-Fi access, and women will be able to get manicures and pedicures as well as room service around the clock.

At Barnert, the new mother and a guest enjoy a “celebration dinner” with china, glassware and sparkling water.

St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic tucks all hospital tubes behind sliding picture frames on walls and places televisions in cabinets rather than hang them from the ceiling.

Most of the spa-type features are complimentary, such as yoga and massages at Englewood and aromatherapy during labor at Chilton. Englewood intends to offer even more lavish services through VIP packages for additional fees.

Health-care providers agree that hospitals not only use the posh environments to attract women but also to recruit doctors and especially nurses, who are in short supply. Hospital administrators acknowledge that many physicians cross the bridge to practice in such surroundings. Englewood, for example, is affiliated with Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. That gives obstetricians the ability to offer a city or scenic delivery to patients – and hospitals the opportunity to impress.

But it’s not all about luxury, doctors say.

“It’s not a hotel,” says Faith Frieden, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Englewood. “It’s still first and foremost a medical care center.”

All the hospitals are increasing space for classes and lactation consulting offered in several languages. Pascack Valley’s new wing will offer higher-level neonatology units than in the past. Englewood has purchased a 4-D ultrasound machine for its new floor.

In the end, for Jaime Dorunda – who had a Caesarean section two days early – none of the amenities mattered. The nurses by her side, Dorunda said, mattered most.

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HOSPITAL HOSPITALITY

Combine all the amenities coming to life at North Jersey hospitals for new moms and you have a five-star, luxury accommodation – with everything but the bellhop.

* Room service (including ethnic and vegetarian dishes)

* Bathrobes

* -Manicures and pedicures

* -Complimentary massages

* -Yoga classes

* -Flat-screen TVs

* -Entertainment systems with video games and music playlists

* -Wi-Fi Internet access

* Cappuccino makers in waiting rooms

* Sleeper couches for overnight guests

* -Romantic dinners for two

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