Maternity unit to return to Uniontown Hospital
UNIONTOWN, Pa. (KDKA) — A new state-of-the-art birthing center will soon call Uniontown Hospital home.
It's been five years since the hospital had a birthing center, but it will soon be ready to welcome back the community's mothers-to-be.
"It's been a priority since 2020 when WVU Medicine came in to serve the Uniontown community," president and CEO Carrie Willetts said.
In 2019, Uniontown Hospital's 13-bed maternity unit and pediatrics department closed in a cost-cutting move, forcing expecting moms to drive to another city that provides labor and delivery services.
"Moms from Fayette County who need to deliver have to travel 30 to 45 minutes to have their baby, and no one can say they were born locally in their local hospital," Willetts said.
The hospital gave KDKA-TV a sneak peek on Tuesday at the progress being made at the birthing center. Construction crews are renovating the labor, delivery, recovery and post-partum rooms. Also under construction on the third floor is a new suite for surgeries and a neonatal intensive care unit.
"We'll have five labor and delivery rooms, 11 post-partum rooms and a brand new renovated C-section suite," Willetts said.
The ribbon-cutting event is slated for Dec. 5.