3 minute read
A Note from Brady
What’s a Boone Baby?
When people in our community learn where I work, sometimes they’ll tell me, “I’m a Boone Baby!”
It’s not just a local phenomenon. Boone Health Board Chair Jerry Kennett, MD, recently shared a story at a board meeting where, while talking to a consultant in Washington, D.C., they told Dr. Kennett that they were a Boone Baby. And earlier this year, our post-partum unit had the honor of caring for 10 sets of twins over the course of a few weeks!
In my experience, it’s uncommon for people to proudly identify with the hospital where they or their children were born, it’s typically just the city. But I understand why it happens with Boone Hospital babies. As I see it, being a Boone Baby reflects the high-quality care and compassion families receive at Boone. Most people are anxious when they think about hospital stays, so it’s meaningful that members of our community reflect fondly on the often stressful experience of childbirth. Folks call themselves and their children Boone Babies because they appreciate the experienced and knowledgeable nurses, physicians, and other healthcare professionals who cared for them every step of the way. And they want others to have a similar experience.
Whether that first step toward starting or adding to a family begins with our team of board-certified obstetricians at Women’s Health Associates or with Gil Wilshire, MD, at Missouri Fertility, our experienced medical experts carry on a century-long tradition of delivering Boone Babies in a safe and supportive environment.
At the hospital, our experienced Maternal Child Health nurses provide excellent care before, during, and after birth. Many of our nurses have been with Boone for over 20 years and have certifications in OB nursing. Our Labor & Delivery unit provides a welcoming and safe environment for childbirth, including lowintervention delivery options. Our Postpartum unit includes comfortable rooms designed for bonding with baby, family visits, and rest. Sometimes newborn babies require additional levels of care. Our neonatologists and Level-III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) provide critical care for premature and seriously ill newborns as well as compassion, support, and education for parents. Our NICU opened in 1996. Today, some of our first NICU patients are healthy adults with Boone Babies of their own.
A new baby can be a joyful and stressful experience simultaneously, whether it’s your first time or your fifth. To help parents feel better prepared to have and care for their babies, our nurses share their knowledge in our Family Life Education classes covering childbirth, breastfeeding, infant safety and CPR, and more. For more information about our classes and childbirth services, please visit boone. health/services/childbirthnewborn-services.
After bringing baby home, Boone families continue to receive excellent care. After leaving the hospital, new mothers can contact a lactation consultant with any breastfeeding questions. Bringing Up Boone Babies, an online support group run by our OB nurses, gives parents the opportunity to ask questions and share experiences. And Tiger Pediatrics gives many Boone Babies their first medical home and a great start towards a healthy life.
With an experienced care team committed to ensuring the best outcomes for mothers and babies, it’s not hard to see why people choose to have a Boone Baby.
