By M. Ross
Fully functional, familiar and friendly, fashionable. It’s a tall order, but one the Bloomington-Normal Birthing Center and its team of designers and builders intend to fill for Central Illinois mothers this spring.
In November, construction was well underway in retooling the former Debra T. Thomas Learning Center at 6 Westport Court, overseeing installation of plumbing, sewer, and other underground systems before pouring new foundational concrete; reframing the gutted interior; and creating a new entrance. Conversion of a daycare center into a contemporary but comforting natural birth center has proven “quite a job,” according to contractor Jeff Tarter.
“It’s not a hospital environment, although we do have to install cleanable surfaces, floor coverings that are moppable, things like that,” related Tarter.
“The Birthing Center wanted a home-type, warm feeling. We’re putting a fireplace in; we have wood columns that surround the fireplace. The kitchen will be set up like a residential kitchen, with a sitting area for the families. It’s kind of a warm, home atmosphere, not a clinical-type atmosphere.”
That atmosphere reflects the virtual family that’s worked for the past year to make The Birthing Center a reality, from local OBGYNs Joe Santiago and Dele Ogunleye and project consultant/administrator Kathleen Lorenz to Tarter and designer Nathan Elliott of Bloomington-based EA Architecture & Design Inc. “It’s a great group of people putting this together,” Tarter said. But Elliott faced novel challenges as he began the Birthing Center design process in late 2014, particularly under Illinois Department of Health (IDPH) requirements for the first wave of statewide birth centers.
For example, the center’s birthing rooms will include not only maternal birthing tubs but also deep-bowl “birthing sinks” used to clean newborns. Sinks are equipped with foot controls to ensure aseptic conditions within the birth environment. “That’s something I had not seen before,” Elliott noted.
The architect meanwhile strove to balance function with aesthetics. Elliott designed birthing rooms reflecting three distinctive, optional styles — traditional, contemporary, and “shabby chic” — and a “living room”/kitchenette combo that offers family, friends, and partners domestic comfort.
“Kathleen and the doctors wanted a very clean environment, but they also wanted this space to be very welcoming — they want their patients to feel at home,” he stressed. “We’ve tried to take very sterile materials and give them sort of a soft feeling.”
Neutral wall and floor colors will enable the Birthing Center to imbue birthing rooms with a fresh and timeless “residential feel” created by handpicked furnishings, bed linens, and other accessories. Further, the center will limit its environmental footprint through the use of flooring materials and wall coverings with recycled content, and durable low-VOC (volatile organic compound) epoxy paints will provide an additional “health-friendly” touch for mother and child, Elliott said.
Amid construction, the Birthing Center continues to seek IDPH licensing and national accreditation from the Commission for Accreditation of Birth Centers — key steps in securing insurance and Medicaid eligibility — and is building its team of birthing specialists. Lorenz noted recent selection of Education and Outreach Director Jenni Tilson, who according to Administrator Lorenz is the center’s “face” with prospective patients, doulas (independent birthing companion/coaches) and perinatal providers, and other “interested professionals who might want to learn about the birth center.”
And as he helps bring Elliott’s concepts to life, Jeff Tarter relishes the idea of providing new birthing options that enables Central Illinois mothers to follow personal or cultural prerogatives and control “how they run their lives.” “It’s opening another door,” Tarter maintained.
For more information you may call the Bloomington-Normal Birthing Center at 309-722-4020; email at bnbirthingcenter@gmail.com; check them out online at http://www.bnbirthingcenter.com; or find them on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Photo credit: LifeJourneys/iStock