“Moving was both exciting and sad for me because of my close connections to the downtown location,” Maria says. “But choosing to move to Women & Babies provided me with the opportunity to focus on the maternal-child health population that I loved working with the most.”

As a social worker, Maria helps patients and families with discharge planning, coordinating support services and providing emotional support to patients and families in crisis.

Maria’s role gives her the opportunity to help women and children in a powerful and unique way. She’s one example of Women & Babies commitment to providing holistic healthcare to women at every stage of life. This commitment continues to guide leadership as they examine how to grow and adapt programs and services to better meet women’s needs.

Jan Bergen, Senior Vice President, has been helping lead Women & Babies Hospital since it opened in June 2000.

“When I realized what Lancaster General was striving for with this new hospital, I knew it was something I had to be a part of,” Jan says. “I saw it as a completely unique chance to make a real difference in the lives of women and babies in our community.”

Women & Babies initially focused on maternity services, including the Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and round-the-clock obstetric and anesthesia services, but quickly introduced additional programs and services, such as:

• Breast Care Center
• Chaplain Services
• Diagnostic Imaging, including specialized imaging (CT)
• Laboratory Services
• Mammography
• Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialists—obstetrics team dedicated to high-risk pregnancies and childbirth
• Osteoporosis Center
• Physician Specialty Offices
• Special Care Unit
• Specialized Physical Therapy Services
• Support Groups
• Surgical Services—inpatient and outpatient
• Women’s Health Boutique
• Women’s Wellness Center—library, educational resources, programs and classes

The carefully thought-out strategy has proven successful. “We’re one of the busiest hospitals in the state in terms of maternity volumes and mammograms,” Jan says.

Even though the hospital is always abuzz with activity, customer service remains a high priority.

“I’m really proud of the team,” Jan says. “We have consistently scored in the 98th-99th percentile on our patient satisfaction surveys. That kind of achievement takes a phenomenal amount of effort from every staff member. Everyone does their jobs with the intent of making each patient experience a positive one.”

Charles Castle, MD, Medical Director at Women & Babies Hospital and member of OB-GYN of Lancaster, says Women & Babies has done an incredible job of taking healthcare for women and babies to entirely new level.

“No detail is overlooked. In our role as physicians, that’s critical,” Dr. Castle says. “Having related services available under one roof makes it easier for us to do our jobs more efficiently, which ultimately allows us to focus more on our patients, who are the reason why we’re here.”

Moving to the future, Women & Babies will continue to explore creative opportunities for improvement.

“We are looking into expanding many areas of the hospital to meet community need, especially maternity and NICU services,” Jan says. In addition, Women & Babies is looking to improve access to services through educational programs at other Lancaster General sites.

• Schedule of 5th Birthday Celebration Events
• Focus on Health Registration
• Celebrating our Milestones
• Women & Babies Hospital