Connections: Family Birth Center Delivering Exceptional Care
The exceptional OB care Victoria Johnson-Chavez received started long before she bonded with her first child in a queen-sized recovery room at the Gritman Family Birth Center.
Childbirth education, clinic tours, car seat checks and faithfully answering every question she had were all factors that made it easy for she and her husband, Elmer Chavez, to choose the Gritman Family Birth Center for the delivery of both of their children.
Victoria Johnson-Chavez
“I would very highly recommend the Family Birth Center,” she said. “I had the most wonderful experience, both times. I have recommended them to friends, I’ve recommended them to family who don’t live in the area. I’m like ‘if you’re going to have a baby, why don’t you come see us, and you can have your baby at Gritman,’ just because it was such a wonderful experience.”
Dr. Nigel Campbell delivered both of Victoria’s children. 4-year-old Macyn’s birth was meticulously planned. Newborn Miles came early, and just three hours after the first contraction began.
Victoria, a Moscow resident and nursing student at Walla Walla Community College in Clarkston, credits the seamless integration between physician Dr. Campbell’s Moscow-Pullman OB/GYN practice and the Gritman Family Birth Center for the “fantastic” coaching and support she and her family received in both situations.
“Even with the more planned structure of my daughter and the unplanned structure of my son, he was great about making me feel comfortable for the whole process,” she said.
Elmer Chavez echoed those sentiments. He is thankful to the staff at the Family Birth Center for walking him through the process, step-by-step, when he became a father for the first time.
“Everyone at the Birth Center was very helpful, they were super nice, and they incorporated me into helping in any way I could,” he said.
The team eased anxieties ahead of Victoria’s first delivery through tours of the facility, childbirth education classes and the seamless integration of primary care physicians into his family’s care plan.
Nurses and other team members were instrumental during delivery, extending that exceptional care to the family after Victoria and her new arrival were moved to the recovery room. Nurses checked in often during Victoria’s recovery, getting the vitals they needed but giving mom time to sleep and allowing the new family time to bond – particularly during that “golden hour” after delivery.
“Absolutely amazing, the care that we received there,” she said.
The Johnson-Chavez family is grateful for one another, each enjoying the world they have created as a family, Victoria said. Macyn is a spunky, very excited little girl with such a happy demeanor. Miles is an incredibly happy baby. It was almost immediate, she said, that everyone bonded with one another as a “big ball of love.”
“Hectic but in a good way,” Elmer added. “It’s awesome. Every day is new. I can’t imagine my life without them.”
Hear from more families who recommend the Gritman Family Birth Center.
Read more Gritman stories at gritman.org/connections.
Meet the Johnson-Chavez Family
