A clear sky. Low 69F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph..
A clear sky. Low 69F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.
A local hospital saw a baby boom of sorts in August.
Resolute Health Hospital in New Braunfels delivered 121 babies last month, which officials said was a record for that facility, breaking the former monthly mark of 96.
Dr. Robert Graebe, Resolute’s maternal medical director, said the hospital had flirted with around 100 babies a month for several months and that staffers were “excited to be over and actually surpass that by quite a few.”
“New Braunfels is an exciting place, and people want to be here,” Graebe said. “It’s a great place to raise families, and a lot of young people who want to start families are coming here. There are other options in the community, and they feel like Resolute is a great hospital — a safe place to deliver their baby. They don’t feel a need to go out of town to a larger city anymore, and we provide all the services here.”
And with New Braunfels’ rapid pace of growth comes more newborns.
“This is one of the fastest growing cities and fastest growing counties in the country,” said Resolute CEO Mark Bernard. “Clearly, when you look at what’s happening in the market, we are attracting any and all, but certainly more and more younger families. We’ve seen a growth in the number of physician providers, both obstetricians and family practitioners, in the market. These physicians have capacity within their practices, so inevitably, they become an access point for that new population to come to the market.”
Spring and summer are always the busiest times for the maternity unit, Graebe said.
“It’s funny how the seasons go,” he said. “And definitely the spring and summer tend to be the busiest time of year. Sometimes, the fall and winter are less busy, but this way surpasses anything we’ve had here at this location.”
Referred to as “The Nest,” the hospital’s maternity unit offers a highly secure, locked unit with private rooms with an extra bed for a dad or a guest as well as kangaroo rockers and sofa beds to promote skin-to-skin time, but the facility also offers a Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, or NICU staffed by highly skilled neonatologists, nurses and neonatal nurse practitioners, equipped with advanced technology to care for the newborn.
Level II means that the hospital provides specialized care for preterm babies born later than 32 weeks. These babies are generally stable or have minor issues that can usually be resolved quickly.
Bernard said name recognition has also contributed to the boom of babies at the facility.
“When I arrived six years ago, not many people knew Resolute,” Bernard said. “More people know it today, and more people will know it tomorrow. Certainly being a beautiful facility that has really excelled with women’s services — I think it’s one of the magnets. I would certainly say that the great care from our staff has contributed to that and makes this a place where people want to work and mothers want to have babies.”
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