The first stop at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for pregnant patients with a pregnancy-related health concern used to be the Emergency Department (ED), with parking in the East Garage across the street. From the ED, a nurse would escort them to the labor area on the fourth floor of Vanderbilt University Hospital (VUH).
Now, pregnant patients who are more than 20 weeks along with a pregnancy-related health issue have a dedicated drop-off location. The VUH Labor and Delivery Entrance, located off 21st Avenue at the new Vivian Thomas Way stoplight, offers quick access to OB triage at Medical Center East’s second-floor entrance in the north tower.
Marked with white and purple signage featuring a stork holding a bundle in its bill, the Labor and Delivery Entrance is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. During normal business hours, patients can enter directly. After 9 p.m., patients will press the button to alert security and be escorted to the triage area.
“We are so grateful that our pregnant patients who are more than 20 weeks have an opportunity to bypass our Emergency Department and use the new entrance to go straight to our Labor and Delivery Unit for care,” said Ronald Alvarez, MD, MBA, the Betty and Lonnie S. Burnett Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology. “This helps our patients avoid the busy environment of the Emergency Department and helps our Emergency Department better manage their often-overflowing waiting room and unit volume — a win-win scenario at VUH.”
The entrance also includes three one-hour purple parking spaces right inside the Medical Center East garage. Patients’ support persons can also use the free valet services in the parking garage after dropping off the patient.
This is just one of the many enhancements Vanderbilt Health is making for pregnant patients delivering at VUH. On Feb. 27, five new Labor and Delivery rooms opened, for a total of 17, and VUH now offers family-centered c-sections, which provide an opportunity for the baby to be skin to skin with the mother in the operating room to promote mother-baby bonding and breastfeeding.
“The Labor and Delivery Entrance improves our patient experience by providing our pregnant patients easy, more direct access to our OB Triage unit,” said Shannon Blaisdell, DNP, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, associate nursing officer in Women’s Services. “Our patients know they will arrive to an obstetrical, neonatal and anesthesia team prepared to care for them 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.”