Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
The Kosciusko Community Hospital reached a record when it helped deliver 103 babies in August.
The second highest number of deliveries at the hospital was in September 2003 when 92 babies were delivered, according to Dr. Tim Cook, obstetrician gynecologist for the Warsaw Women's Center.
Cook has been with the Center for 19 years and said the hospital, on average, delivers 70 babies a month. The Center typically helps deliver 20 of those births.
The Center provides prenatal care for pregnant women and helps deliver babies at the hospital.
Cook helped delivered 37 of the 103 births in August.
There were three other OBGYN staff from the Center, as well as 10 family doctors from the hospital, who helped deliver the babies.
Cook said the OBGYN staff completes high-risk births, such as cesarean sections, and the family doctors from the hospital complete routine births.
He said 19 percent of August births were cesareans and 8 percent of the births were primary C-sections, which were first time mothers who had C-sections.
The national average for cesareans sections is 25 to 30 percent and 16 percent for primary C-sections, Cook said.
"We had low cesarean rates in August because the deliveries were normal and went smoothly," Cook said.
Cook attributed the baby boom to a growing community and increased services the hospital offers that attracts women to deliver at the hospital.
He said the hospital draws women from surrounding areas such as Plymouth and Wabash.
"The hospital has made its goal to be a regional center that provides quality care to our patients," Cook said.
Cook said staff worked longer hours and more patients were being transferred from delivery and recovery rooms as a result of the increase in deliveries.
"It was a very busy month with very few open spaces in delivery and recovery rooms," Cook said.
The hospital added a Great Lakes Anesthesia Group five years ago to the hospital that provides 24-hour epidermal services to expectant mothers and helps alleviate pain from child birth.
The hospital also has a new birthplace delivery department that includes four labor and recovery rooms, 10 private patient rooms and a surgical recovery suite.
Mothers are moved to a postpartum room following the birth of their baby to visit with friends and family.
In 2005, 861 babies were delivered and Cook predicts there will be 950 babies delivered by the end of this year.
Cook said the hospital delivered 583 babies in its first full year of deliveries in 1977. The hospital opened in 1976 and celebrated its 30th anniversary in August.
Cook said helping deliver a record number of births made celebrating the anniversary significant.
"It was the perfect timing to celebrate the hospital's anniversary and be a part of the team that helped deliver a record number of births," Cook said.
