September 2018

HEALTH
Health center takes care
to a new level
by Aaron Krause
Mothers will enjoy increased privacy for breastfeeding
and bonding with their newborns in completely private
neonatal intensive care unit rooms.
Meanwhile, a new surgery center with “state-of-the-art” robotic
surgery will result in shorter hospital stays, less pain, and better
outcomes for surgical patients.
These enhancements are part of a $65 million expansion at
Broward Health Coral Springs that is now complete, two years
after a groundbreaking ceremony.
The new building’s first and second floors are dedicated to
labor and delivery, C-section rooms for expectant mothers,
and 28 private mother/baby post-partum rooms, in addition to
a new 10-bed neonatal intensive care unit.
The expansion of surgical, women’s, and children’s services
“really allows us to provide the platform for the next level of
healthcare,” said Jared Smith, Broward Health Coral Springs’
chief executive officer. Mothers “will have an incredible place to
deliver their babies in a completely private, spa-like room that
feels more like an upscale hotel room,” Smith said.
“In the NICU, each baby has his or her own room now,” said
Dr. Arlene Boykin, Broward Health Coral Spring’s Medical
Director for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Neonatology
is a subspecialty of pediatrics focusing on the medical care
of newborn infants, particularly those who are ill or born
prematurely.
The NICU takes into account all patient needs in one location,
Smith said. The 100-percent private rooms will allow mothers
to remain in the NICU with their babies, instead of having to
leave for the night. Therefore, they can offer increased skin-toskin
contact and breastfeeding time. Boykin said the increased
time for breastfeeding and close contact will help stabilize
the infant. Boykin, who has been practicing for 22 years as
a pediatrician and neonatologist, said “the more skin to skin
time and breastfeeding a small or sick baby participates in, the
healthier the outcome for the baby.”
The physician said the NICU features a serene setting. The
floors sport a wood-like tile, while natural colors throughout
blend with accents of blue and green. Boykin noted that blue
is a “particularly calming color for an intensive care nursery.”
Within that calm environment, the unit encompasses all patient
needs in one location, Smith said. He added that advancedtrained
specialists would provide intensive care for babies
born as early as 28 weeks gestation, with a birth weight of 2.2
pounds or more. “We’re talking about the tiniest of babies,”
Smith said.
Meanwhile, the third floor houses 28 private medical/surgical
beds. A state-of-the-art da Vinci Xi surgical system provides
the latest in minimally invasive surgery, offering the most recent
advances in robotics and computer technology, “resulting in
less invasive surgeries with a quicker recovery for patients.”
Broward Health Coral Springs is reserving the new building’s
fourth floor for “future clinical services.” The tower will increase
Broward Health Coral Springs’ bed capacity from 200 to 250.
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SEPTEMBER 2018