Kings County hospital gets new Family Birth Center

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) -- From the outside to the rooms inside, the new $45 million dollar Family Birth Center at Adventist Medical Center in Hanford is state-of-the-art. But much of what's done inside will stay the same.

"It continues the tradition of the Central Valley General Hospital, which has been delivering babies for many, many years," said Adventist Health Central Valley Network CEO Wayne Ferch. "So we view it as incredible improvement in the patient experience and our employee experience."

Employees plan to make the move here on March 6th.Ferch said the new facility is more modern, has more amenities, and the rooms are larger so families can feel comfortable during their stay. "It just makes one of the most pleasant experiences in life, having a baby, even better," Ferch said.

"You can't get a better outcome than having mom and baby together and that's what this state of the art facility allows to occur," said Valley Children's Hospital CEO Todd Suntrapak.

The NICU belongs to Valley Children's hospital. Suntrapak says the new birth center is the culmination of a 20-year partnership with Adventist in the South Valley-- one that will continue for another 20 years. He says this will allow Valley Children's to bring more doctors for babies moms to Hanford and Kings County. "To be able to care for both mom and baby right here closer to where they live, where their family is where their support structure is so that everybody can live a happy, healthy life," Suntrapak said.