Kaiser Oakland opens maternity ward
New unit ends hospital's seven-year contract for delivery services with Alta Bates in Berkeley
By Rebecca Vesely, STAFF WRITER, THE OAKLAND TRIBUNE
Article Last Updated: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - 3:45:56 AM PST

Kaiser Permanente Oakland opened its new maternity ward Monday after a seven-year hiatus.

The unit cost nearly $13 million in upgrades and new equipment. An estimated 250 babies will be delivered there each month.

The move ends Kaiser's long-standing contract with Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley for labor and delivery services.

"We're so excited to have everything under one roof again," said Shirley Dostal, registered nurse and service director for maternal and child health at Kaiser Oakland.

The new unit includes seven private labor, delivery and recovery rooms with soft lighting and a fold-out chair for guests. There are two operating rooms, a six-bed triage room, and pre-operating and post-operating rooms. On another floor, private recovery rooms have fold-out chairs for guests and flat-screen televisions.

A neonatal unit has capacity for up to 29 babies.

About 180 medical staff were recruited from inside Kaiser and other area hospitals to work in the new ward.

Cheryl Hudson, a registered nurse, worked at Kaiser Oakland for 11 years, then moved over to Alta Bates for seven years under the maternity contract. She is one of several nurses who came from Alta Bates to work on the new unit. Other staff came from Highland Hospital in Oakland.

The new Kaiser maternity ward co-

incides with labor and delivery changes at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. In September, Summit hospital in Oakland is closing its maternity ward and moving all patients over to Alta Bates in Berkeley.

Physician services at Kaiser Oakland will remain the same as patients had at Alta Bates, Dostal said.

Neonatal patients will be transferred from Alta Bates to Kaiser Oakland this week, and new deliveries will begin mid-week.

The maternity ward will be in operation for the next eight or nine years, when Kaiser Oakland plans to move all services to a new building to meet upcoming state seismic requirements.

Contact Rebecca Vesely at rvesely@angnewspapers.com.