Overlook Medical Center
In September 2022, HFNJ’s trustees approved a one million dollar grant to Overlook Medical Center to support the renovation of the hospital’s Frank & Mimi Walsh Maternity Center – part of a larger $23.5 million renovation of the hospital.
Phase one of construction for this multi-year construction project was completed in 2023. Included in the renovation were a new welcome area and triage suite, two new operating rooms for C-Sections, a relocation of the NICU, and 13 state-of-the-art recovery rooms in the Mother-Baby postpartum unit. The second phase of construction will see the creation of 28 more post-partum rooms, a renovated Labor & Delivery Unit, improvements to the spaces for the medical teams, and more.
Overlook’s energetic maternity team, led by Chair of OB/GYN Dr. Emre Kayaalp, took the renovation as an opportunity to not just refresh their physical space, but to truly re-think and pilot emerging approaches that could improve outcomes in maternal health.
This approach is evident in the new triage unit, the design of which is attributed to the “collective wisdom and idea sharing from the labor and delivery team members.” While most American hospitals strive to get women into the delivery room and on medical interventions as soon as possible, the new triage unit provides a soothing, comfortable atmosphere for women in early labor, while also doubling as a delivery room if things move faster than anticipated. Overlook hopes that the physical design of the triage unit and approach they are piloting will become a model for Atlantic Health System – and hopefully, beyond.
This complex construction and renovation project is happening in a busy, bustling, open 24/7 maternity department that delivers about seven babies every day of the year (the hospital had 2,625 births in 2022).