Geisinger Community Medical Center completes second phase of postpartum care expansion project

Following the opening of 12 new postpartum beds in December, Geisinger Community Medical Center has completed the second phase of its postpartum care expansion and is seeing patients.

The third-floor renovation opens six more postpartum beds, a family waiting room, an education room, and a pre- and post-operative bay for expectant families in Lackawanna County and across northeastern Pennsylvania. 

“Growing our postpartum care resources is critical to providing more labor and delivery access to mothers, babies and families in our region,” said Lucinda Mirra, D.O., chief of the Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Geisinger’s northeast region. “We now offer 18 rooms dedicated for families to rest, recover and prepare for their new life at home.”

The now-complete postpartum unit provides a peaceful, modern space for mother and baby to recover and bond, and that capacity helps care teams prepare labor and delivery beds for incoming mothers in labor.

The project aligns with a parallel effort to improve neonatal care at the hospital. The first phase of the postpartum renovation also upgraded the medical center’s well-baby nursery to a continuing care nursery capable of delivering specialized treatment to babies with minor health issues.

Geisinger Community Medical Center is also under renovation to add a Level II neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), which is a specialty care nursery capable of caring for babies as young as 32 weeks gestation and as small as about 3.3 pounds.