The project features expansion of its neonatal intensive care unit as well as renovation of the labor and delivery unit.
The NICU will grow from 16 beds to 21 to help meet demand, according to hospital officials. The labor and delivery unit will mirror the look of the hospital’s mother/baby unit, where renovations were completed in August 2022. The $3.5 million mother/baby unit project included new flooring and wallpaper, installation of large-screen televisions in every patient room, and couches that convert to beds.
“[Women’s services] is really a signature service line for Medical City Lewisville,” Medical City Lewisville CEO John Walker said. “Part of [the reason for] this renovation is to be able to handle that additional growth that we’re seeing in the community.”
Both units are due for upgrades, Women’s Services Director Deb Cates said. The NICU has not been renovated since it was built in 2001, while the last major labor and delivery construction project took place that same year.
The labor and delivery waiting room will be upgraded to look more welcoming, Cates said.
The NICU will also have a dedicated space for families.
The upcoming project is a continuation of the hospital’s investment in women’s services, hospital officials said.
“We definitely want to be the destination of choice for health care in Denton County,” Cates said.
Addressing growth
Medical City Lewisville is seeing more patients as Denton County’s population continues to grow, Walker said.
The number of babies born at the hospital has steadily increased over the last three years. There were 1,863 babies delivered at Medical City Lewisville last year, according to hospital data.
Infants are relocated to the overflow room whenever the NICU reaches capacity, Cates said. While babies receive the same level of care, it lacks some of the equipment and features available in the main NICU, she added. For example, the overflow room is not compatible with a web-based program that allows families to see their babies at all times via camera.
The NICU expansion gives staff five additional beds with the opportunity to touch lives in the community, Neonatal Program Coordinator Jamie Aponte said in an email.
“Having a baby in the NICU is not ever something anyone plans and can be a stressful time for parents,” she said. “Our hope with this renovation and expansion is that we can give [patients] a peaceful, calm and comfortable environment for their experience so they can focus on bonding and the joys of new life.”
The project will also address the hospital’s internal growth. The labor and delivery unit’s nursing station will be expanded to alleviate crowding, for example.
The women’s services department has 130 employees. The hospital is anticipated to see a 10%-15% growth in its number of employees because of this project, Cates said. The department also plans to add two obstetrician providers.
Cates said the hospital is always looking for experienced nurses as well as new nurses. Medical City Lewisville also has an internship program and partners with Galen College of Nursing, which plans to open its first North Texas campus in Richardson this summer.
The upcoming renovation and expansion project will help keep Medical City Lewisville competitive, Walker said.
“Our patients have choices on where they’re going to go, so we want to make sure that we’re also up to date on everything,” he said.
Providing quality care
Medical City Lewisville continues to be a destination for moms seeking care, hospital officials said.
The hospital has consistently received high marks for its women’s and neonatal services. For eight consecutive years, the hospital has held Healthgrades 5-star awards for C-section and vaginal deliveries.
Medical City Lewisville became the first and only hospital in Denton County to receive an official NICU designation from the Texas Department of State Health Services in 2018. It is the second-highest level of neonatal care that can be provided to critically ill infants. The NICU expansion will not impact the hospital’s Level III rating, however.
One factor that drives Medical City Lewisville’s growth is its ability to add new services, Walker said. The department recently added 24/7 in-house obstetricians. This will help move its maternity program from Level II to Level III.
The hospital’s NICU added total body cooling therapy last year, which helps prevent long-term injury. It is the only Denton County hospital that offers it, and it allows babies to remain close to their families, Cates said.
"When this particular kind of issue would come up with a delivery, we would have to transfer that baby out,” she said. “Just like with stroke patients ... we want to protect that brain and get them started on their cooling process as soon as possible.”
Denton County resident Nikki Johnson spent a week in the hospital last year after developing amniotic fluid embolism, a life-threatening birth complication. Her daughter was born shortly before the hospital began offering total body cooling therapy, therefore she had to be transferred to Medical City Plano while Johnson was treated in Lewisville.
“I didn’t get to meet her until she was eight days old,” she said. “Being a new first-time mom ... that’s really, really tough when everybody else gets to meet your child before you do. The fact that now they offer that for moms like me who deliver there but their baby needs more care and they can’t leave yet is huge.”
Johnson said she chose Medical City Lewisville because of its reputation. A hospital’s quality of staff, service capabilities and comfort are all important things for mothers to have during a hospital stay, she said. Johnson stayed in the recently renovated mother/baby unit after she delivered. Once the upcoming project is completed, labor and delivery patients will receive the same enhanced care.
“If you have to spend eight days in the hospital, you want to be comfortable,” she said. “Nobody ever thinks that the hospital stay is comfortable but they made me as comfortable as I possibly could be.” Aponte said she is most excited about the sound absorbing abilities that will come with the new flooring.
“Research has found that infants who spend a significant amount of time in the NICU are at risk of potential hearing loss with a noise level greater than 55 decibels,” she said. “We also have infants that require minimal stimulation, and these infants do not tolerate noise well, so having the addition of the sound absorbing flooring is huge.”
The success of women’s services ultimately feeds into the hospital’s other service lines, Walker said.
“We’ve always seen the research that shows women make the decision for where their family goes to receive health care,” he said. “As we grow our women’s program, other service lines grow with it.”
