TERRE HAUTE —
Big plans have come full term for Union Hospital’s smallest patients.
Dozens of admirers filled the brightly lit halls of Union West, where the newly expanded Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was opened for a preview Wednesday evening. Now more than 23,000 square feet, the area formerly housing surgery boasts eight birthing suites, nine triage rooms and more space for infants requiring intensive care.
Many retirees attended the evening’s event, lauding advancements in technology while pointing out the continued commitment to quality. Itself born in 1968, Union Hospital’s NICU is the oldest such in Indiana, founded through the collaborative efforts of doctors Thomas Conway and William Scully.
Dr. J. Lewis Stoelting said he well remembers those years — and a few decades earlier.
“It’s a lot different now,” he said near the unit’s entrance. Beginning his obstetrics practice at Union Hospital in 1947, Stoelting’s deliveries numbered into the thousands, and he recalled one night in particular where he and the team delivered 16 babies in one shift.
Union nurses then, like Union nurses now, demonstrated excellence, he recalled. And while that commitment hasn’t changed, little else in the unit has remained the same.
Hospital CEO Scott Teffeteller said the unit, which cost approximately $5 million to build, helps fulfill the organization’s mission.
“We exist to serve our patients with compassionate health care of the highest quality,” he said, adding that this investment brings world-class care to the Wabash Valley. “If this isn’t the highest of quality, I don’t know what is.”
Union Hospital delivered more than 16,000 babies last year, admitting 300 infants to the NICU, he said.
Among those infants was Anden Litz, who entered the world Nov. 18, 2011, about 12 weeks premature, weighing in at 2 pounds, 10 ounces.
Anden’s father, Shane, on Wednesday afternoon credited the unit’s staff, pointing out the number of nurses there with more than 20 years experience.
“There’s so many years experience all together there in that NICU,” he said.
The need for more space in that unit was telling, though, he recalled, adding he’s certain the group’s commitment to care won’t lessen as the space increases. Crediting his son’s physician and director of the pediatrics department, Dr. Russel Coutinho, Litz said staff there genuinely care for the children involved.
“He was able to express those feelings to the parent in a way that was very calming,” Litz said, adding his son now weighs more than 15 pounds. “That’s an important thing in that situation, having a doctor that genuinely cares.”
During the open house, Coutinho said the new facility will help its staff make sick babies well and send them home to their parents, just as they’ve been doing since the early days.
“This will provide us a better environment to help our families,” he said.
Brian Boyce can be reached at 812-231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Related Photos
-
Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Been around: J.Lewis Stoelting, 95, listens to speakers at the open house for Union Hospital's new NICU. Stoelting practiced medicine in their maternity ward for 40 years, delivering 16 babies in a day on one occasion.
-
Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis New space: Union Hospital's Chief of Pediatrics Russel Couthino talks with Jaimee Goodman, assistant nursing care manager, Fatima Hina, OBGYN, and Dena Cochran, manager of labor, delivery and postpartum. They were at the open house for the hospital's new NICU, due to open in a couple of weeks.
-
Scott Teefeteller
Discussion
Union Hospital unveils expansive new neonatal intensive care unit
- Local & Bistate
-
-
Illinois Senate approves sex education bill
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A proposal that revamps sex education in Illinois public schools to include information about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases has cleared the state Senate.
-
Gregg pondering 2nd run for Indiana governor
INDIANAPOLIS — Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Gregg is pondering another run at the state's top job, but has yet to make a decision.
-
Illinois senator apologizes for Nazi remark
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois Sen. Donne Trotter has apologized for remarks that compared a member of Gov. Pat Quinn’s cabinet to a Nazi.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 22, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Tuesday and Wednesday, based on jail records.
-
Rose-Hulman professor researching ways to make homes storm safe
Tornadoes produce greater uplift forces than hurricanes, which can flatten homes such as in Moore Okla., south of Oklahoma City.
-
Group wants to connect downtown Terre Haute with the Wabash River
Fairbanks Park is underutilized.
The Wabash River is peaceful and inviting, but there is some concern about its cleanliness as well as pollution levels. Also, people can’t get on the river unless they have a boat. -
New conservancy district appoints first directors
Members of the first board of directors of a new lake conservancy district were appointed Tuesday by the Vigo County Board of Commissioners.
-
Vigo law enforcement signs Triad charter to protect seniors
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller joined Vigo County law enforcement and community activists Tuesday to sign the county’s first Triad charter, becoming the 22nd Triad in Indiana.
-
Wabash Valley Red Cross wraps up Save the Day Campaign
The American Red Cross Wabash Valley Chapter’s 2013 annual meeting concluded the 17th annual Save the Day Campaign, and the results lifted the spirits of all who were involved.
-
Some Vigo roads washed out
Spring storms resulted in $250,000 in damages to roads in southern Vigo County, with costs including sand and labor to save homes near river bottoms, said county highway Assistant Superintendent Dan Bennett.
-
County Council votes $78K toward rail spur
County officials voted Tuesday night to make good on a 2011 promise to help improve a railroad spur just north of Terre Haute for Menard Inc.
-
Spring flooding damages future CSO holding lagoon
Flood waters from the Wabash River have done costly damage to one of the city-owned “lagoons” on former International Paper property.
-
Vigo tops state average for IREAD-3 scores
The Vigo County School Corp. exceeded the state average in the percentage of students passing the state’s mandatory Grade 3 reading test, IREAD-3.
-
Storms cause minor damage in Valley
Tuesday morning storms in the Wabash Valley caused thousands of Duke Energy customers to lose power.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 21, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Monday and Tuesday, based on jail records.
-
UPDATE: Damage surveys show 2 weak tornadoes hit near Indy
INDIANAPOLIS — The National Weather Service says storm surveys show two weak tornadoes struck central Indiana.
-
Storm causes scattered Indiana power outages
INDIANAPOLIS — A line of thunderstorms that moved across Indiana caused scattered building damage and power outages for several thousand homes and businesses.
-
Kindergartner diagnosed with MD treated to a day with the fire department
“He’ll just never forget this day,” Stacey Manley said, a little bit tearfully, as she watched her smiling 6-year-old son Carter sitting happily in the captain’s seat of Fire Engine 2.
-
Casey, Illinois aims for another world record
The town of Casey, Ill., may soon weave its way into the record books as the small town with the most world records. After setting records for the world’s largest wind chimes and the world’s largest golf tee, Casey is now looking to become home to the world’s largest knitting needles and crochet hook.
-
Rose-Hulman projects will promote growth, learning for people with physical challenges
Life changed dramatically for college engineering student Drew Christy on Feb. 22, 2008 when he was involved in an auto accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
-
‘500’ gas stations being sold to Speedway LLC
After several decades in business, the area’s familiar “500” gasoline stations and convenience stores will soon be missing from the roadsides of Vigo and Sullivan counties.
-
Terre Haute woman faces 14 charges
A Terre Haute woman faces 14 criminal counts after her arrest Friday on drug-related charges.
-
Two adults injured in ATV accident
Two adults were injured Sunday evening while riding an all-terrain vehicle near Lexington Farms Subdivision off Moyer Drive in southern Vigo County.
-
Vigo schools’ medical claims down 4 percent
The Vigo County School Corp.’s medical claims were about $13 million over the last 12 months, down 4 percent from the prior year, said Diane Titchenell, an Anthem account manager that works with the school district.
-
2013 Government Directory now available
The 2013 Government Directory is now available.
-
UPDATE: 5 killed, 6 injured in I-70 van crash in Illinois
ST. LOUIS — A van carrying church members returning from a California gathering careened off of a southern Illinois freeway and overturned several times today, killing five people and sending six others to hospitals, authorities said.
-
2 children reported dead from Indianapolis fire
INDIANAPOLIS — Authorities say some autistic children lived in the Indianapolis condominium unit where a fire has killed two children.
-
Tighter Indiana drunken driving law seems unlikely
INDIANAPOLIS — Some key Indiana legislators say it’s unlikely that the state will any time soon go along with a federal safety board’s recommendation that the threshold for drunken driving be cut nearly in half.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 20, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, based on jail records.
-
Life-Size Ping Pong: Valley pickleball tourney draws large crowd to Brittlebank Park
It’s been described as “ping pong on steroids.”
Some people call it “life-size ping pong where you stand on the table.” - More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Illinois Senate approves sex education bill
Jodi Arias: Death Penalty Would Cause More Pain
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
Looking for Love? Take the Prague Metro
Raw: Costa Rica Volcano Roars to Life
Raw: Aftermath of Deadly Attack in London
Today in History May 22
IRS Official Pleads 5th Amendment
Raw: Students Clash With Police in Chile
Raw: Japan's WWII Atrocities Under Fire in Seoul
First Person: Baby Falcons on a New York Bridge
Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
Florida FBI Shooting Has Boston Bombing Links
Oklahoma: Images of Devastation, Reunion
Crews Race to Find Survivors of Okla. Twister
Lawyer: Feds Investigating Susan Powell Case
Protests Outside Cincinnati IRS Office
Tim Cook Defends Apple's Tax Accounting
Raw: Aussie Zoo Shows Off White Rhino Calf
Families Begin Returning to Their Homes in Moore
Reunited Dad, Son: 'We Just Praise God'
AK-47-wielding thug may be the most bumbling crook ever
Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage
Trout's cycle a boost for Angels
Kim Kardashian Flaunts Pregnant Bikini Body in Greece
NBA star pledges $1M to help tornado recovery
Shakira's Shocking Talent
Morgan Freeman falls asleep on air
GRAPHIC: Blood-Soaked Machete Killer Caught on Tape
Elin Nordegren Furious With Lindsey Vonn For Parading Kids in Public
Camera Captures Climber As He Loses Grip And Falls
Helen Mirren Meets with Dying Boy in Queen Elizabeth's Place
Crowd Chants '¡Si, Se Puede!' After Passage of Immigration Bill
DWTS Crowns a Winner
Demi Moore a Rocks Bikini at Harry Morton's Family House
Anthony Weiner: I'm running for New York City mayor
Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
