Memorial Medical Center celebrates renovation of women's pavilion

Think of it as an "Extreme Makeover: Hospital Edition."

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center on Wednesday celebrated the completion of a half-million dollars in upgrades to its Mary C. Dyster Women's Pavilion with a brief ceremony and ribbon-cutting on its labor and delivery floor.

The new unit, which offers all-private, homelike accommodations, has been transformed. It's fresh and contemporary with bright colors, and offers all new furnishings and vivid artwork while promoting comfort, safety and family involvement.

"These renovations will allow us to continue offering upscale accommodations to the growing number of women who trust Memorial as Niagara's leading provider of women's health services," said Memorial Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Sheila K. Kee.

Kee noted the number of OB/GYN surgeries performed at Memorial increased by 41 percent last year while nearly 700 women delivered their babies at Memorial in 2012.

"In fact, if you go back to 2010, we actually delivered 66 percent more babies in 2012 than we did in 2010," she said. "New moms appreciate nice facilities in which to celebrate joyous occasions, and these upgrades will continue to make them feel right at home."

The pavilion, which has served the community since 2003, is named for a community leader and lifelong advocate for women and their families. Mrs. Dyster, who was married to Dr. Melvin B. Dyster, was a Niagara University nursing school graduate whose community service spanned several decades. She was a founding member of the Center for Young Parents, an alternate school for pregnant adolescents and school-age mothers, before passing unexpectedly in 1999.

Located on the second floor of the Hodge Building, the renovated area includes six spacious labor/delivery/recovery/postpartum rooms, where women remain throughout the birthing and recovery process. Each suite has a specialized birthing bed, a comfortable easy chair that converts into a bed for the father, a rocking chair and a bassinet. Each LDRP room has a private shower.

The unit also includes a dedicated operating room for Caesarean section deliveries, a nursery, five additional private patient rooms and two outpatient rooms where women in pre-term labor can be monitored and evaluated.