On Tuesday, Staten Island University Hospital Northwell Health unveiled a new space dedicated to women’s health.

“Every woman who comes in here to give birth is going to get her own private space, be with her loved ones, and be able to go through that incredibly important and memorable experience the way you really should,” said Dr. Brahim Ardolic, hospital director.

The Gruppuso Family Women and Newborn Center is expected to be fully operational in the coming months.

According to Ardolic, the new space is necessary to keep up with medical advances.

He said currently the hospital is still delivering babies in a unit built in the 1970’s.

“[It’s] not designed for the level of deliveries that we currently are doing. Also, frankly, not designed for the way we think about current health care. Medical care is a little more complicated,” Ardolic said. “There [are] more machines, very small spaces that you can see from the size of this room. We could actually monitor babies. We can monitor mom. We could bring in whatever kind of equipment we needed here.”

There is more space for labor, delivery and maternity services.

Officials say the space will allow the hospital to care for 1,000 additional babies each year.  

Staten Island has no public hospitals, and Ardolic said these initiatives are crucial for the community.

“It’s one of the most memorable days of your life. And if you’re becoming a mother or a father for the first time, you deserve the right to be able to do it in a private setting, in a comfortable space where all you’ll really remember is seeing your baby for the first time,” Ardolic said.

The center is part of an over $200 million project at the hospital’s north site. Part of that project included elevating the power plant to withstand severe weather.

In 2025, an upgraded neonatal intensive care unit is expected to open.