The Labor & Delivery Unit at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital had not been updated since the 1980s, leaving it undersized, inefficient, and out of step with current care practices.

Working closely with hospital leadership and staff, we conducted a feasibility study and renovation that reimagined the unit to enhance patient experience, workflow, and competitiveness.

The feasibility study addressed renovating the unit largely in place with a phased approach while finding a compromise between clinical capacity and efficient construction phasing. Eight new Labor & Delivery Rooms were created with distinct zones for patients, families, and staff, as well as integrated infant resuscitation areas and private bathrooms.

The layout of the renovated Labor and Delivery Unit proper took careful planning and creative use of space. By relocating some staff spaces such as locker rooms and call rooms to another floor, a large block of space was opened up for a new central nurse station with communal work desk allowing better collaboration among nurses, residents, and physicians.

Since the unit is being renovated in place, the design attempts to use the existing divisions between rooms so that phased construction does not intrude on operational clinical areas. This proved to be challenging as existing labor rooms are well undersized for current requirements and also lacked dedicated bathrooms.

During the design process, the contractor built a full-scale mock-up of a room which the staff used to validate everything from the location of the bed in the room, to number and location of electrical and med gas outlets, to locations of monitors and charting computers.

The result is a modern, spacious, and patient-centered environment that boosts staff efficiency, increases satisfaction, and elevates the hospital’s ability to serve its growing community.