Jen Plante, RN and manager of the hospital’s maternal child unit, said that with a delivery on Christmas Day and expectations for additional births before the end of the year, the hospital has seen the largest number of deliveries since 1993.
“Our deliveries have grown dramatically,” said Plante, who has managed the unit since 2008. “This is remarkable when you consider that the number of childbearing-age women in Aroostook County is declining. Our staff is so excited by this level of activity and we are looking forward to even greater numbers in 2016.”
According to statistics provided by Cary Medical Center, 240 babies have been born at the hospital in 2015, compared to 229 babies born in 1993.
Lauren Walker, a registered nurse on the obstetrics unit at the hospital, said Thursday that she believes that the increase in babies is attributable to the providers and the nursing staff at the hospital.
“We give a great level of care here,” she said. “We have an excellent number of providers and nurses to provide care to the mothers who are giving birth.”
She also said that the birthing suites are inviting to the mothers giving birth.
“We offer queen-size beds to the mothers after they give birth,” she said. “The father can stay right in there with the mother.”
Walker said that the babies born have been “a pretty even gender mix.”
She also said that people have traveled from as far away as Bangor to give birth at Cary Medical Center, while others have come from Houlton and the St. John Valley to have their babies born there.
Walker again attributed this to the care that the patients receive at Cary Medical Center.
Plante said that the growing number of deliveries is “exciting for the staff.”
