Dan and Renee’ Veasey have been married for fourteen years and have four children after recently welcoming baby Joah on February 17, 2014, at Danville Regional Medical Center (DRMC). Their family also includes ten-year-old Alyssa, seven-year-old Iliana, and three-year-old Tovi.
Iliana and Tovi were also born at DRMC under the previous nursery care model, where babies were kept in the nursery much of the time. Dan says the new couplet care model was a welcomed change. “For me the biggest difference in the process was having our baby with us at all times,” Dan says. “At first, I thought not having a nursery would interfere with Renee’ getting the initial rest & recovery she needed, but I was completely wrong. Having Joah with us was monumentally less stressful than what we experienced in the previous births of our children.”
Renee’ also enthusiastically embraces couplet care. “This time Joah stayed with us. The staff only took him out of my room to give him a bath and when the pediatrician needed to assess him. As soon as Joah was born I got to hold him. Dan and I were able to bond with Joah right after he was born which I wasn’t able to do with my other children. Since he stayed in the room with us it was nice not to have to wonder when he was coming back or what was going on with him. I never had to worry if he was hungry or fussing because he was right there with me the whole time.”
With a new streamlined check-in process in place, Renee’ says getting to the room was a cinch. “I entered the hospital through the emergency room,” Renee’ says. “The receptionist called Labor & Delivery and a nurse came down immediately to take me to my room. I was in the bed hooked up to monitors by the time someone checked me in. I’m not really sure if I even realized I was being checked in.”
The room surprised her. “It was nothing like a hospital room at all. It was very nice and spacious, like a hotel suite. I really enjoyed the fact that Dan never had to leave the room during our stay because they provided him with meals, a place to sleep and shower.”
Even with all the amenities and stress-free processes, the most rewarding experience was the bonding hour right after birth. Dan says “It was great! I did not get to experience this with my other children. That is the time when you count the baby’s fingers and toes; see whose smile they have – and just really stare in amazement.”