A local hospital broke ground Tuesday on what will be a groundbreaking project for the community it serves.
South Jersey Healthcare Regional Medical Center plans to expand and upgrade its neonatal care unit so it can provide advanced care for infants who are premature, have low birth weight or are critically ill.
The staff of the West Sherman Avenue hospital hosted a news conference and ceremonial groundbreaking to celebrate the start of the $6 million, 14,800-square-foot expansion.
Once the new unit is complete, the hospital can better care for prematurely born babies and limit the number of infants transferred to other hospitals that already specialize in that high-level care.
“In nine months we’ll be ready to deliver and keep 95 percent of our babies in our hospital and in our community,” Betty Sheridan, the hospital’s chief operating officer, said.
With its expansion, the hospital is on track to create its own neonatal intensive care, or Level 3A, unit. That would allow it to house babies born at the 28th week of gestation or later — or roughly 100 more babies a year, according to SJH spokeswoman Robin Priggemeier.
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