Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/735366
PATRONS | Fall 2016 12 North Tower Becomes Hub of Mother and Child Care A $33 million renovation of Torrance Memorial Medical Center's North Tower is underway. The revamp will follow the natural progression of upgrades happen- ing within the Medical Center. Once completed, the North Tower will serve as a hub for the caring of mothers, babies and children of all ages. Following the opening of the Lundquist Tower in 2014, several of Torrance Memorial's North Tower units moved over to the new building. Now vacated, except for the first and third floors, the 33-year-old building is primed for a makeover. Once completed, the North Tower will be home to the Mother/Baby Unit, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Pediatric Unit and Medical Surgical Services. 1ST FLOOR TRANSITIONAL CARE UNIT e first floor will remain the Transitional Care Unit (TCU), serving patients on their way to recovery but still under skilled nursing care. 2ND FLOOR MOTHER BABY UNIT e new Mother Baby Unit will offer 25 private rooms for mothers and their newborns, with new patient room furniture upholstered in bright fabrics that offer an uplifting ambiance. When the North Tower was built in the early 1980s, infants were placed in open pod nurseries with many babies in one room. Modern-day best practices dictate keeping babies with their families (known as "rooming in") to facilitate bonding. e new unit includes only a small nursery with three beds, down from the current 15. e new rooms are 30% bigger—offering plenty of space for rooming in. is will also allow more space for pediatricians to examine each baby with their parents in attendance so they can ask questions during the exam. Construction on the Mother/Baby Unit finished in August. Once the state certifies the unit for patient care, the unit's transition from its current third-floor location will occur. 3RD FLOOR NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT It's estimated that 10% of newborns require some degree of subspecialty care and nearly 3% require intensive care. Torrance Memorial's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) offers highly specialized care that enables many infants to remain in the South Bay, instead of being transferred to a specialty-care facility. e remodeled third floor will bring together a now divided NICU, which is currently spread across two floors in the hospital's Central Tower. Evidence reveals a quiet, controlled environment with just the presence of family WRITTEN BY JACQUELINE RENFROW | ILLUSTRATED BY ELENA LACEY