Penn State Health Hampden Medical Center welcomes its first baby

The Women and Babies Center at Penn State Health Hampden Medical Center is now open and serving patients on the West Shore. The labor and delivery team welcomed its first baby, Avery Sampson, born to parents Kathryn Durham and Tim Sampson, on Wednesday, Dec. 1.

“Our dedicated Women and Babies Center provides all the care that growing West Shore families need in our labor and delivery unit and nursery,” said Jill Arnold, director of inpatient women’s and children’s services at Hampden Medical Center. “It’s an honor for us to be a part of these special moments for our friends and neighbors who are welcoming a baby.”

Avery Sampson was born at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 1 to parents Kathryn “Kat” Durham and Tim Sampson.

Patients benefit from experienced physicians and staff in a brand-new Women and Babies Center at Hampden Medical Center that includes labor and delivery, antepartum and postpartum rooms, and a special care and well-baby nursery. The center also has dedicated operating rooms for Cesarean deliveries. On December 1, labor and delivery services transitioned from Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center to the Women and Babies Center at Hampden Medical Center.

“The relocation of labor and delivery and neonatal care is part of Penn State Health’s two-hospital strategy on the West Shore to best utilize each hospital’s strengths,” said Don McKenna, regional president. “I want to thank all of the providers and employees who provided excellent care to close to 60,000 babies who were born at Holy Spirit Medical Center over almost six decades.”

Obstetric and neonatal patients needing advanced specialty services will benefit from the locally coordinated care provided between clinical teams at Hampden Medical Center and Penn State Health Children’s Hospital in Hershey.

Holy Spirit Medical Center will focus on services such as Level II trauma, heart, stroke and neurosurgical care and behavioral health.

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