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Neonatal Unit Nears Reality

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By JOSE PATINO GIRONA

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 17, 2008

WEST TAMPA - St. Joseph's Women's Hospital plans a five-story building to house its neonatal intensive care unit and private patient rooms.

The city council last week approved rezoning the property to allow for the project. A final hearing is set for 9 a.m. Oct. 2.
Hospital officials said the project will benefit neonatal intensive care by providing 64 private rooms for babies. Currently, the unit is divided into clusters, with six to eight babies in each.

There also will be 52 private rooms for women.

Mindy Young, the unit's nurse manager, said the new building will be a relief to families who come from across the region, including Tampa, Brandon, Lakeland and Winter Haven. The privacy also will help parents and newborns bond.

"The babies and families deserve that," Young said.

Two years ago, the council approved rezoning for a three-story renovation to house the neonatal intensive care unit.

But hospital officials decided the renovation could be disruptive and stressful for the babies. Also, state law now requires that patients' rooms have access to natural light, which wasn't a part of the hospital's original plan.

The five-story building would be constructed on a parking lot next to the building that currently houses the unit.

Plans also include building an enclosed bridge over Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from the new building to St. Joseph's Hospital, making it easier to transport patients, said Kimberly Guy, chief operating officer of the women's hospital.

The hospital, 3030 Dr. W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., hopes to break ground in late 2009. The five-story building will cost an estimated $75 million and the bridge about $10 million to $15 million.

Reporter Jose Patino Girona can be reached at (813) 259-7659 or jpatino@tampatrib.com.

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