Swedish welcomes record 9,014 babies in 2013

January 13, 2014 Swedish News

Ballard, Issaquah Hospitals set Records with More Than 1,000 Deliveries

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 13, 2014

Contact: Clay Holtzman, Swedish, 206-386-2748, clay.holtzman@swedish.org

SEATTLE – Swedish Health Services delivered 9,014 babies across four hospitals in 2013, a record for the hospital system and an increase of 3 percent over 2012. Last year also saw a record number of births at both Swedish Ballard and Swedish Issaquah, which each surpassed 1,000 deliveries for the first time. In total, three of Swedish’s four hospitals offering childbirth services saw growth in 2013.

“We take great pride in providing Western Washington families with the very best convenience and care for their pregnancies and newborns,” said Jane Uhlir, M.D., executive director of the Women & Infants program at Swedish. “We share in the joy these families experienced last year and look forward to a lifetime of health and wellbeing for these children.”

Every year, more babies are born at Swedish than any other health system in Western Washington. With delivery services at four hospitals – Ballard, Edmonds, First Hill and Issaquah – Swedish offers expecting families convenience as well as a range of services to accommodate just about every need to ensure a safe and comfortable delivery.

The record number is in large part due to increased capacity at Swedish, as the hospital system added locations in Issaquah and Swedish/Edmonds in recent years. Swedish/First Hill continues to deliver the majority of babies born at Swedish.

  2013 2012
Ballard 1,022 953
First Hill 5,680 5,683
Edmonds 1,163 1,138
Issaquah 1,149 973
Total 9,014 8,747

Last year, Swedish expanded its pregnancy and childbirth services when it opened a Level II nursery at Swedish Issaquah and its Lytle Center for Pregnancy & Newborns at Swedish/First Hill. Learn more about Pregnancy and Childbirth services at Swedish: http://www.swedish.org/services/pregnancy-and-childbirth.

Swedish First Hill welcomed Seattle’s first baby of 2014 when Killian Powell was born at 12:51 a.m. on Jan. 1 to parents Niamh O'Connell and Wyatt Powell.

About Swedish

Swedish has grown over the last 103 years to become the largest non-profit health provider in the Greater Seattle area. It is comprised of five hospital campuses (First Hill, Cherry Hill, Ballard, Edmonds and Issaquah); ambulatory care centers in Redmond and Mill Creek; and Swedish Medical Group, a network of more than 100 primary care and specialty clinics located throughout the Greater Puget Sound area. In addition to general medical and surgical care including robotic-assisted surgery, Swedish is known as a regional referral center, providing specialized treatment in areas such as cardiovascular care, cancer care, neuroscience, orthopedics, high-risk obstetrics, pediatric specialties, organ transplantation and clinical research. In 2012, Swedish provided more than $130 million in community benefit in Western Washington. For more information, visit www.swedish.org, www.facebook.com/swedishmedicalcenter, or www.twitter.com/swedish.

About Providence Health & Services

Providence Health & Services is a not-for-profit Catholic health care ministry committed to providing for the needs of the communities it serves – especially for those who are poor and vulnerable. In 2012, Providence affiliated with Swedish Health Services, expanding both organizations’ ability to carry out their individual missions. Swedish Health Services is a secular, not-for-profit organization founded in 1910 with five hospitals, primary care and specialty clinics, ambulatory care centers and 8,900 employees in the greater Seattle and western Washington areas. Providence and its affiliates includes 32 hospitals, 400 physician clinics, senior services, supportive housing and many other health and educational services. The affiliated health system employs more than 64,000 people across five states – Alaska, California, Montana, Oregon and Washington – with its system office located in Renton, Washington. In 2012, Providence provided more than $693 million in community benefit across the West Coast and Swedish provided more than $130 million in community benefit in Western Washington. Together, Providence and Swedish are working to improve quality, increase access and reduce the cost of care in all of the communities we serve.

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