New birthing center at UofL Health - Mary & Elizabeth Hospital expected to open this year | Business

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A new birthing center west of Interstate 65, the first in more than 50 years, will open in Louisville later this year.

UofL Health-Mary & Elizabeth Hospital is undergoing a $20 million project called the Birthing Place. Nearly 21,000-square-feet of former office space will be redesigned, near the main entrance of the hospital.

"It really is about access to care, looking at all the different zip codes, running all of the data that goes along with that and seeing what access is available," said Melisa Adkins, CEO of Mary & Elizabeth Hospital. "It's our mission to provide that and close the gap and that's why we're doing that."

The unit will include eight labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum suites that will focus on natural and traditional childbirth. Each will have a "spa-inspired" labor tub area and a private bathroom and shower room.

There will also be a specialty suite specifically designed for C-Sections, a Well-baby Level 1 Nursery, and a labor lounge that will "provide a calming and soothing environment for laboring mothers."

According to UofL Health, the last baby delivered in a birthing center west of Interstate 65 was in 1974.

"Somebody in this area, the closest hospital to deliver a baby would likely be Dutchmans Lane or even downtown, we're going to be in the local neighborhood to offer these services," said Tara Garris, Director of Women Services at UofL Health.

The new facility is expected to open later this year.

UofL Health-Mary & Elizabeth Hospital is located on Bluegrass Avenue in Louisville's Hazelwood neighborhood, off Manslick Road. To learn more about the hospital, click here.

To learn more about the Birthing Place, click here.

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