BIRMINGHAM, AL — There is a new address for moms-to-be at UAB with the opening of the new maternity entrance on Sixth Avenue South between 19th and 20th streets. Since UAB opened its emergency department at the new UAB Hospital, the hospital’s former emergency department has been completely renovated into a convenient entryway and evaluation unit for pregnant women.

The new unit opens 8 a.m. Wednesday, April 27, and gives obstetric patients a convenient new front door to the hospital. It also affords expectant mothers the opportunity to bypass potential delays through the hospital’s Fifth Avenue emergency department.

The new Maternity Evaluation Unit (MEU) is a convenient drop-off and first-stop to evaluate patients pregnant 16 weeks or more, or those referred directly by their doctor. Patients with pregnancy-related complications or illnesses or those who may be in labor should use the new entrance.

“We are so excited about the new MEU and know our patients will be, too,” said Madonna Nichols, R.N., administrative director of Women’s and Infants’ Services. “With this new unit, a family member can drive up and drop off Mom directly in front of the unit. Once inside, the patient will be able to go directly to a room. The family member who dropped off Mom can pull right into the Sixth Avenue parking deck across the street and park in our designated maternity parking spaces on the second floor.

“When you are pregnant or in labor, the last thing you want to worry about is where you’re going to park or which entrance of the hospital you’re supposed to use. This new unit eliminates all the hassle and worry, it allows a patient to concentrate on what is most important — her baby,” she said.

“The new Maternity Evaluation Unit will serve as an easy point of access to the various specialties within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,” said Ob-Gyn Chair John C. Hauth, M.D. “The new evaluation and triage unit will better reflect the quality of care the department is known for and will benefit both our patients and our staff by making the arrival and check-in process more streamlined and efficient.”

The new maternity entrance features:

• One centrally located, easy-to-find entrance;
  
  
• Drive-up and drop-off point for pregnant patients
  
  
• Designated maternity parking on the second level of the 6th Avenue South public parking deck;
  
  
• Four times more room, with an increase from 2,623 square feet in the hospital’s current MEU to 10,389 square feet in the newly renovated unit;
  
  
• Seven large exam rooms with private baths;
  
  
• All the latest technology, including a labor-delivery-recovery room with neonatal resuscitation equipment for emergent deliveries;
  
  
• Comfortable waiting room with snack area and spacious play area for children; and
  
  
• Quick and easy elevator access to the Labor and Delivery lobby and the state’s only Level III Regional Newborn Intensive Care Unit (RNICU).

UAB Hospital has approximately 80 beds devoted to the various specialties within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The labor and delivery unit consists of three operating rooms and 12 fully equipped LDR (labor-delivery-recovery) rooms. There are three nursing floors devoted to the ante- and post-partum services, including a step-down unit immediately adjacent to Labor and Delivery. Next to the L&D is the RNICU, a neonatal intensive care unit that treats a daily average of approximately 80 to 85 newborns and sick infants. In addition, UAB staffs a high-risk ante-partum unit, with nursing staff and physicians specifically trained to care for patients experiencing