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St. Joseph's Hospital-South's Baby Record, NICU Anniversary
January 28, 2022
RIVERVIEW, FLA., (January 28, 2022) – St. Joseph’s Hospital-South’s maternity services has started 2022 with two big reasons to celebrate.
Soft chimes rang in the Riverview hospital more than 1,700 times in 2021. The soft chimes, for all to hear, represent the birth of a baby. 2021 ended with the hospital setting its record for most babies delivered in a year since St. Joseph’s Hospital-South opened in February 2015. The hospital delivered 1,732 babies in 2021 topping the previous St. Joseph’s Hospital-South record of 1,208 in 2020.
The progression in the number of births in the hospital’s history:
- 2015 – 616
- 2016 – 962
- 2017–1,051
- 2018 –1,047
- 2019 –1,171
- 2020 –1,208
- 2021 –1,732
2021 was a 43 percent increase over 2020. A side note: The hospital also delivered 24 sets of twins in 2021, also a hospital record.
In addition, the five highest monthly total of babies delivered in St. Joseph’s Hospital-South history happened in 2021:
- 184 – November
- 163 – July
- 162 – June
- 130 – May
- 124 – March
The hospital is also celebrating in early 2022 the first anniversary of its 11-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The NICU, which opened February 22, 2021, is for babies born prematurely or with special health needs. The Level II NICU provides specialized around-the-clock care 24 hours a day, seven days a week for newborns and their mothers. The NICU is staffed by highly-trained neonatologists, obstetric and pediatric hospitalists and board certified maternal fetal medicine physicians and certified nurses. Mothers are able to stay in the baby’s room during their child’s NICU stay.
BayCare and St. Joseph’s Hospital-South administrators believe there may be a correlation between the record number of babies born at the hospital and the new NICU. Families may feel safer and secure knowing there is an added level of protection with a NICU in the hospital.
“During pregnancy we know how important it is to have the available resources,” said Jenny Leistl, BayCare’s East Region director of patient services in obstetrics. “We want to make your birth experience special and support our patients from pregnancy to parenthood.” St. Joseph’s Hospital-South is part of BayCare’s East Region division.
St. Joseph’s Hospital-South can also transfer babies requiring higher levels of care to the Level IV NICU at St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital in Tampa.
Explosive population growth in southern Hillsborough County could be another reason for the baby boom.
“In addition to the opening of our NICU, our volume is most likely based on the rapid growth in the South Shore area of Hillsborough County,” said Michelle Landy, St. Joseph’s Hospital-South’s operations director. “South Hillsborough County is an extremely rapidly growing area and many families are moving into the area as evidenced by the area construction, traffic and our overall volume growth at St. Joseph’s Hospital-South.”
“We thank all the families who chose and trusted us as the hospital to deliver their children,” said Phil Minden, St. Joseph’s Hospital-South president. “The families are the ones who really made this happen. And, I congratulate and thank the doctors and our maternity teams who helped us achieve these milestones. I’m excited to see what 2022 brings. I’m looking forward to hearing the soft chimes ring again often in our hospital nearly 2,000 times in the New Year.”
Visit StJosephsSouthMaternity.org to learn more about St. Joseph’s Hospital-South’s maternity services. The page includes a video tour of the hospital’s labor and delivery rooms, the comfortable home-like Mom and Baby rooms, the NICU and other features.
“In addition to the opening of our NICU, our volume is most likely based on the rapid growth in the South Shore area of Hillsborough County,” said Michelle Landy, St. Joseph’s Hospital-South’s operations director. “South Hillsborough County is an extremely rapidly growing area and many families are moving into the area as evidenced by the area construction, traffic and our overall volume growth at St. Joseph’s Hospital-South.”
“We thank all the families who chose and trusted us as the hospital to deliver their children,” said Phil Minden, St. Joseph’s Hospital-South president. “The families are the ones who really made this happen. And, I congratulate and thank the doctors and our maternity teams who helped us achieve these milestones. I’m excited to see what 2022 brings. I’m looking forward to hearing the soft chimes ring again often in our hospital nearly 2,000 times in the New Year.”
Visit StJosephsSouthMaternity.org to learn more about St. Joseph’s Hospital-South’s maternity services. The page includes a video tour of the hospital’s labor and delivery rooms, the comfortable home-like Mom and Baby rooms, the NICU and other features.