Virtua celebrates 2021 'baby boom'

Jessica Perry//January 11, 2022//

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In 2021, Virtua Health said it delivered 9,109 babies, a 7% increase over the previous year.

The health care system provides maternity services at three hospitals – Virtua Voorhees, Virtua Mount Holly (formerly Virtua Memorial) and Camden’s Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes, along with its new Midwifery Birth & Wellness Center. The center, which opened last October, is the only freestanding birthing facility in South Jersey. It is located adjacent to Virtua Voorhees Hospital.

In December, Virtua Health was one of 237 recognized by U.S. News & World Report on its inaugural Best Hospitals for Maternity Care list.

Virtua President and CEO Dennis Pullin, Virtua EVP and Chief Strategy Officer Stephanie Fendrick, Administrative and Clinical Director of the Center Karen McEvoy Shields, First Lady Tammy Murphy, of NJ, and Virtua VP of Clinical Operations for Women's Health Services Dr. Nicole Lamborne plant a ceremonial tree outside of the Midwifery Birth & Wellness Center in Voorhees to celebrate its opening on Oct. 7, 2021. — Virtua President and CEO Dennis Pullin, Virtua EVP and Chief Strategy Officer Stephanie Fendrick, Administrative and Clinical Director of the Center Karen McEvoy Shields, First Lady Tammy Murphy, of NJ, and Virtua VP of Clinical Operations for Women’s Health Services Dr. Nicole Lamborne plant a ceremonial tree outside of the Midwifery Birth & Wellness Center in Voorhees to celebrate its opening on Oct. 7, 2021. – VIRTUA HEALTH

According to the system, the past several years have seen significantly lower C-section and episiotomy rates, the rapid treatment of hypertensive patients, and assessments for a patient’s hemorrhage risk, due to its protocols, which are developed by all maternity staff members.

“The education and engagement of all team members is critical to our care delivery model. This inclusion results in a comprehensive and collaborative approach to patient care,” said Dr. Nicole Lamborne, vice president of clinical operations for women’s health. “We welcome the input of our nurses, who play a vital role in how patients are managed and improves maternal outcomes. The entire team needs to have the same level of engagement for a successful result.”

Of 2021’s more than 9,000 babies, Virtua said that 79 were born to displaced mothers from Afghanistan currently residing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and throughout South Jersey. The system estimates that 25 Afghan babies will be born at its hospitals each month this year.