Cental Texas hospital sets new record by delivering 3,000th baby of fiscal year

TEMPLE, Texas (KWTX) - A Central Texas hospital hit a big milestone delivering its 3,000th baby in a fiscal year which is a record for the facility.

Baylor Scott and White Temple says getting a chance to be part of the record became a fun competition for staff.

“When we started out that day, we had eight deliveries to go and as each delivery occurred, there was a little more excitement from the staff, a little bit of competition between the nurses,” said Kayla Skala, nurse director at the hospital.

New mom, Keyonia Smith, of Temple, didn’t know her baby might make the record books until she heard the nurses in her delivery room talking.

“I was halfway asleep in the bed when I heard them talking about it, and before I started trying to push there were twins that were going to come,” Keyonia said. “I didn’t really think I was going to be it.”

But her baby had other plans.

Keyonia ended up having an emergency c-section and Nasaiah President was born, affectionately known as Junior as his father has the same name.

He was the 3,000th baby on record since last July.

“We went through a couple of hours where there was no delivery,” Skala said. “So, we were about five deliveries away and then over a short period of time, those babies started coming.  So, definitely a lot of excitement, not just from the nurses, but from the providers as well.”

Skala says the hospital has been steadily seeing more births in the last few years.

“This is my 8th year as nurse director here over women’s services and we varied from around 2,400 delivered annually to last year over 2,900, but we’ve never hit 3,000 so this is the first time in over 20 years of records,” she said.

The hospital says the boom is likely due to a number of factors including the fact it offers the highest-level maternity care in Central Texas, being the only Level IV maternal and neonatal designated facility between Austin and Dallas.

She also says they have taken in more moms since Seton Medical Center Harker Heights closed their maternity services in September.

The hospital celebrated Junior by presenting the parents with a gift basket and free hospital newborn photoshoot.

The hospital staff plans to get together for a big celebration in the coming weeks to mark the milestone together.

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