RCH welcomes first baby born in 2007

REDLANDS, CA - Shortly after the midnight ball had dropped and New Year’s Eve celebrations were ending, another kind of celebration was just beginning at 1:16 am on January 1, 2007. It was the celebration of a new life, as the first baby of the New Year was born at Redlands Community Hospital.

The first baby born in 2007 at the hospital was Morgan O’Leary daughter of Heidi and Pete O’Leary. Born three weeks premature, young Morgan arrived on her mother Heidi’s birthday, also January 1st. Morgan weighed 5 lbs., 12.5 oz, and was19 inches long. She has one sibling, Sean, age 7.

The first baby girl and first baby boy of the year are each presented with complimentary gift baskets from the hospital’s Volunteer Auxiliary gift shop.

The hospital averages 200 births a month, or 2,400 births annually. Due to the rapid population growth occurring in the East Valley, the hospital is currently constructing a three-story $50 million addition. Two floors of the new building will be home to the Maternal/Child Services department. The second floor will include the labor and delivery unit, a 16-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and two Cesarean section surgery suites. Floor three will have 24 postpartum rooms for recovering mothers, an infant nursery and educational classrooms. The first floor will house the hospital’s new surgery department.

Construction began on the new building in the summer of 2005 and will be completed in Spring 2007. Patient care services will commence in late summer, following state inspections and approvals.

The hospital’s skyline will continue going through a transformation over the next decade as new buildings are added and healthcare services are expanded to meet the growing needs of people throughout the area. Redlands Community Hospital opened its first hospital on Nordina Street in Redlands in 1904 and moved to its current location at 350 Terracina Boulevard in 1929.

For additional information, please call the hospital at 909-335-5500 or visit www.redlandshospital.org.

The first baby born at Redlands Community Hospital in 2007 arrived at 1:16 a.m. on January 1st. Shown here with baby Morgan O’Leary are parents Heidi and Pete O’Leary, and big brother Sean.