Seton Southwest Hospital is scheduled to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony Dec. 6 to celebrate its new expansion.

The $8.2 million expansion adds:

• A Level II neonatal intensive care unit added to the labor and delivery department,
• Three additional labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum (LDRP) beds for a total of nine,
• Six new postpartum beds,
• Two antepartum beds, and
• A covered drop-off area for the hospital's emergency room.

The Level II NICU will allow Seton Southwest to treat more premature babies in-house and keep families together rather than transferring the babies to a different hospital, said Mary Faria, vice president/chief operating officer of Seton Southwest.

The project, funded by the hospital's parent company, Ascension Health, adds 8,400 square feet of new space and 2,500 square feet of renovations. The hospital broke ground on the project Jan. 4.

Construction was scheduled to finish by the end of the year, but architect Audrey Wernecke and general contractor Burt-Watts Industries completed the project ahead of schedule, Faria said.

The hospital is located at 7900 FM 1826.