Crown Heights Doctors Move Into Staten Island Hospital’s New Birthing Wing

By Libby Herz – COLlive

Dr. Robert Klinger and Dr. Ezra Dori are household names in Crown Heights, widely known as the top choice for OB/GYN in the area. Now, this trusted team has moved into a brand new, state-of-the-art birthing center at Staten Island University Hospital – the Gruppuso Family Women and Newborn Center in Staten Island, New York.

The center is designed for comfort, safety, and personal care, and offers the best of both worlds: modern, hotel-like amenities within a fully equipped hospital setting.

“It’s like its own little hospital,” says Dr. Dori of the facility, which opened on May 19. “This is the only women-and-baby hospital that’s almost freestanding.” Designed with the needs of birthing mothers and their families in mind, the center spans two full floors and is connected to the hospital. “We’re only separated by a wall,” Dori says.

The building was created with space and a very open, airy vibe. “It’s like being in the country,” one patient says. “You look out the windows and see trees, grass, and greenery. It’s hard to remember that you’re still in the city.” The mood in the halls is always calm and uplifting, no matter what the weather is like outside.

Now, each new mother has her own private room and bathroom, so no more sharing with a stranger or navigating another patient’s TV on Shabbos. There is space for husbands to stay overnight, and valet parking right in front of the hospital.

Previously, Staten Island University Hospital’s labor and delivery department was right next to the nurses’ station, which meant lots of noise and action. It included only one labor room with one shower down the hallway. Doctors sometimes needed to move furniture around during a delivery. In the new addition, each woman has her own spacious room with a private shower and a large window. There is plenty of space for the doctors, a doula, and even family members. “It’s all about making the experience better,” says Dori. “Labor is already a nerve-wracking experience.”

The new wing offers remote monitoring, allowing laboring women to move around freely without being tethered to a bedside monitor. “We’re always thinking about the baby’s heartbeat,” Dori says.

Previously, laboring women were hooked up to a monitor and could not go far. But remote monitoring allows women to do anything, even take a shower, and the doctors can still track the baby. “You can sit on the birthing ball and don’t need to do it near a machine. We can monitor everything, the baby, contractions, all of it,” Dori says.

The Center is connected to a Level III NICU for babies who may require extra care after birth, and each room is equipped with oxygen and emergency equipment. There is also a private, dedicated antepartum room, where mothers who are hospitalized before delivery can have a private, dedicated space rather than being confined to noisy, shared areas.

After birth, mothers and babies recover in a private, hotel-inspired postpartum room designed for recovery, bonding, and comfort, which includes immediate access to expert postpartum care and lactation support. Every room has its own private bathroom plus space for a partner or support person to comfortably stay overnight.

The Gruppuso center boosts morale and keeps everyone’s spirits up. This comes as no surprise from Staten Island University Hospital, which boasts a five-star rating for vaginal delivery and maintains one of the lowest cesarean section rates in the nation. “People choose this practice for the care, but now they also get the beautiful building with its safe, therapeutic atmosphere. They get the best of everything,” Dr. Dori says, “this center completes the circle.”

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Northwell Health Physician Partners Obstetrics & Gynecology
Crown Heights
348 Albany Ave
(718) 221-1123

Borough Park
5724 New Utrecht Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219
(718) 436-0100