CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Medical University of South Carolina hosted a community day at the MUSC Shawn Jenkin’s Children’s Hospital to give the community a sneak peek of the new hospital.
The event included games, educational activities, giveaways, food and vendors.
People also had an opportunity to tour the labor and delivery and mother and baby units in the Pearl Tourville Women's Pavillion in the hospital.
The administrator for Children's and Women's Services, Amy Hauser, says the event is a celebration of the hospital and a way to showcase services they will provide.
Hauser says there are nearly 250 beds in the hospital. She says 82 are newborn intensive care units, 17 are labor and delivery areas and there are 26 other baby beds.
"One of the unique things we are going to be able to offer the community is couplet care," Hauser said. "We are one of just a few health systems in the country that will offer this innovative care option. What that means is when mom and baby have an illness condition when they deliver, mom and baby will be able to stay together for their care and the care team members will come to them."
Hauser says through research, MUSC found that mothers and babies heal and recover better and then they are able to go home quicker with couplet care.
There will be seven rooms dedicated to couplet care.
"It was important for us to look at innovation as well as the experience," Hauser said. "We wanted people that have to come here, children, families, women to feel as much at home and to have a warm and inviting experience as possible, but we want to leverage technology and innovation."
The mother and baby units will include comfortable furniture that turns into beds for guests, iPads, video chat capabilities and rooms with a view of downtown Charleston. She says the rooms are spacious enough to accommodate families.
There are also play spaces for children including one on each floor and a large indoor play space.
“We also recognize that space is important and that there is a healing environment for patients and families,” Hauser said.
Donor Shawn Jenkins brought his family out for the community day.
According to MUSC, the Jenkins family gave $25 million to help build the new center. They say it's the largest gift in MUSC's history.
Jenkins says he volunteers at MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital. He's the founding CEO of Benefitfocus.
“My hope is for the families, the parents the moms and dads and grandparents and aunts and uncles and the kids to have a safe place to heal, a happy place to heal, a technically advanced place to heal so the best doctors and researchers and nurses and administrators... platform for them to do the best work,” Jenkins said. “To give them a comfortable place so they can heal and even if possible enjoy some of the interactions that they are going to have here because they are going to remember this probably for the rest of their life and we want it to be a positive memory for them.”
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