GREENSBORO, N.C. — Rifat Kabir wheeled into the Cone Health Women and Children's Center at Moses Cone a few minutes past 7:00 a.m. on Sunday. It's both the end and the beginning of a historic era for Cone Health in Greensboro, North Carolina.
"When they told us that we were the first ones to come here, we were really excited," Kabir said.
Kabir's entrance signaled the start of move-in day for the Cone Health Women and Children's Center at Moses Cone. Cone Health staff transported 32 women and 50 babies to the new facilities attached to Moses Cone Hospital from the former Women's Hospital down the street. Twenty-eight babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit needed extra attention as they traveled.
Every four minutes, a new ambulance arrived on East Northwood Street for unloading. It was all hands on deck for the nurses and employees charged with facilitating operations inside the new center. Separate teams lined the foyer. They offloaded patients, ushered them to their hospital rooms, cleaned the transportation stretchers and returned the stretchers to the ambulances. The bustling cycle took, on average, just under nine minutes to complete.
The move-in day is estimated to finish by 2:30 p.m., but various staff members said that targeted time is ambitious.
Regardless, the grand opening rounded out its first hour without a hitch. The morning's smooth execution will likely bring a sigh of relief to the officials responsible for orchestrating the five years of development that brought the new facility into existence.
Cone Health's professionalism and efficiency are not new for Kabir. Prior to Sunday, her experience at the old facility significantly influenced one of her life's biggest decisions.
"I was really confident on Cone Health," Kabir said, "after knowing I would be transferred here on [sic] 23rd, I didn't have any problem scheduling [my C-section] on [sic] 22nd. I know they're pretty good at whatever they're doing."
The decision brought Nahla Ejaj into the world late Saturday night. Kabir said the peace of mind was a blessing for her and her husband. The 34-year-old North Carolina A&T student is already juggling her doctoral studies and another young boy. She sheepishly admitted another boy might have been a lot to handle.
"We wanted a daughter more than a son. I mean, I shouldn’t have said that, but we were really into daughters." Kabir said.