Courtesy Glens Falls Hospital
Glens Falls Hospital has unveiled plans for a $5 million renovation of the Snuggery, a family centered birthing unit, and announced a $250,000 donation for the project from the David S. and Janet R. Sheridan Foundation.
With the Sheridan gift, the Glens Falls Hospital Foundation has now raised more than $600,000 toward its goal of $1.25 million in donations for the project. Stewart’s Shops and the Dake family previously made a $250,000 donation, and the Sandy Hill Foundation has contributed $100,000.
The renovation of the 31-year-old unit, the setting for more than 40,000 births since its opening, will encompass:
• A complete remodeling of all 22 patient rooms, with aesthetic improvements, individual room temperature controls, and redesigns to better accommodate today’s technology and equipment, particularly those needed in emergency situations.
• Relocation and expansion of the special care nursery, which serves premature and post-mature infants, as well as others requiring special care.
• The creation of a new family and friends waiting room, and renovation of the elevator lobby area.
• The creation of a new nurses station.
• A reconfiguration and renovation of the unit’s hallways to improve traffic flow and provide easier, faster travel between patient rooms and the Snuggery operating rooms when unplanned cesarean sections are necessary.
• Upgraded, energy-efficient lighting throughout the unit, including new patient room lighting specially designed for clinical settings.
The renovation work is scheduled to begin in early September, and will be performed in stages to minimize disruption to patients and staff, officials said. It is expected to take approximately one year to complete.
“The Snuggery has been the setting for so many special family moments over the past three decades, and this project will ensure that those special moments and memories continue, and are even better, for future generations,” said Glens Falls Hospital President and CEO Dianne Shugrue. “The Snuggery is a special place, staffed by special people who continuously elevate the quality of their care and service. I am thrilled that we can now revitalize and elevate the quality of the physical space for them and our Snuggery families.”
She added, “the generosity of the Sheridan Foundation is just incredible. Time and again, the Sheridan family steps forward to make our region a better place to live and raise a family. We are grateful and thank them for their support.”
Davene Sheridan Brown, trustee of the Sheridan Foundation and daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Sheridan, said, “My parents would be so pleased by this gift. Glens Falls Hospital held a very special place in their hearts, and my mother especially loved helping children and families. We can’t wait to see the new Snuggery.”
Officials said with the opening of the Snuggery in 1985, Glens Falls Hospital became one of the first hospitals east of the Mississippi to offer single-room labor-delivery-recovery-postpartum care. “Gone were the days when a woman went through labor in one room, moved to a delivery room for the birth, moved on to a recovery room and then to her regular inpatient hospital room. At The Snuggery, then as now, a woman and her family experience all phases of the birthing process in one private hospital room,” officials said in a statement.
The Snuggery also practices family centered care in a wide variety of other ways, including mother-baby nursing, in which the nurse who accompanies the family through the labor and delivery processes continues to care for both mom and baby after the birth. The Snuggery staff also works closely with expectant parents and their obstetrician or midwife months in advance of the special day to develop a personalized birth plan that meets the parents’ individual needs and desires, officials said.
“When you mention the Snuggery, people just smile,” said Glens Falls Hospital Vice President of Development Cynthia Sherwood. “They share stories, they remember their nurses, it just brings back warm memories. We’re expecting–pun intended–that we’re going to have a very nice response from the community for this campaign.”
A variety of donor recognition opportunities are available for the Snuggery project. Families or businesses interested can call the Glens Falls Hospital Foundation at 926-5960.
Donations for the future can be made at www.glensfallshospital.com or by sending a check to Glens Falls Hospital Foundation, 126 South St., Glens Falls, NY 12801, Attn: The Snuggery.