Deaconess Medical Center has remodeled and expanded its off-site Women's Clinic, plans to update its labor-and-delivery department, and is about to join Valley Hospital & Medical Center in launching a marketing program that will target women as household health decision makers.

The recently completed remodeling at Deaconess Women's Clinic, located in the West Central Community Center, at 1630 N. Belt, has expanded its total space to about 2,000 square feet from 1,600 square feet. The clinic now has five exam rooms, up from three before the expansion. It also has moved and expanded its lobby into in an area that formerly housed a Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. WIC, a federal- and state-funded supplemental nutrition program, has moved its office there to another part of the community center.

Three certified nurse-midwives have provided care to women at the clinic for a number of years. The clinic recently added a nurse practitioner and plans to add two more nurse-midwives due to the expansion, says Lauren Armstrong, a longtime nurse-midwife there.

"We're taking on new patients in obstetrics and gynecology," Armstrong says. "Pretty soon we're going to need some help."

The clinic's nurse-midwives together deliver about 25 to 35 babies a month, and the deliveries are handled at Deaconess, Armstrong says.

The clinic isn't limited to serving only pregnant patients.

"We see women for all kinds of wellness care throughout their life spans," Armstrong says. "We've been in practice long enough that we're starting to see some of our patients' teenage daughters."

The Women's Clinic will hold a weeklong open house beginning Oct. 3, the date of the West Central Community Center's annual community baby shower.

Chad Campbell, assistant CEO at Deaconess Medical Center, says the hospital soon will start work on a $500,000 cosmetic remodel that will follow other recent equipment upgrades in its labor-and-delivery ward. The remodel will include brighter hallway lighting, new carpets and flooring, fresh paint and wallpaper, and some new furniture.

"The goal is to have a facility that represents the quality of care patients are getting," Campbell says.

The hospital hasn't selected a contractor for the remodeling yet, he says. Several contractors have submitted proposals, though, and Campbell says he expects the remodel will be completed before year-end.

Carol Torpey, the hospital's director of labor and delivery, says the last such remodeling was done nearly a decade ago.

"It gets worn from day-to-day use," Torpey says. "We're hoping a color lift will provide an atmosphere that feels comfortable to women and families at the birthing center."

The remodel follows the hospital's recent purchase of 12 beds and fetal monitors for its birthing rooms and 26 beds and accompanying furniture in its post-birth rooms.

Deaconess and Valley Hospital & Medical Center, both of which are owned by Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems Inc., are preparing to launch the joint marketing program, called Healthy Woman.

"The program, will promote the concept of a healthy mind, body, and spirit, through events that will include health fairs and educational seminars," says Julie Holland, a spokeswoman for the hospitals.

In addition to conventional health issues, the seminars will feature topics such as finance, beauty, and skin care, Holland says.

"The Healthy Woman program aims to empower women with the knowledge they need to make great health-care decisions not only for them but their families," she says.

The Healthy Woman program will offer no-cost memberships for which women can sign up online, and the hospitals will e-mail health-related information to members, Holland says.

She says the Web site will be set up by mid-October, and the hospitals will have a kickoff dinner with a national speaker on Nov. 10.

With the exception of the kickoff dinner, for which a fee will be charged, the Healthy Woman program will feature at least one free event a month, Holland says.