Like Family

In just two months, the UCF Lake Nona Hospital has already celebrated an important milestone – the 100th baby born in Lake Nona! That’s more than one baby delivery each day, which was a trend that started from the very beginning when twins, Liam and Teddy, were the first two patients born at the hospital.

“We expected to help deliver only 11 babies during our first month, but the actual number was quadruple that,” said Sally Robertson, Director of Women’s Services at the hospital. 

Since opening on March 1, 2021, Robertson and her team have been busy in the hospital’s state-of-the-art Family Birthing Unit where moms labor, deliver, and recover in private birthing suites. The unit even has a dedicated operating room if a C-Section or other surgery is required.

A private birthing suite for each mom and baby is just one of the comforts families experience while in the hospital’s Family Birthing Unit. Each suite is equipped with everything needed for a safe and comfortable birth in addition to amenities that help families feel at home. The spacious suites also include a 55-inch Smart TV with streaming services, WIFI, and space for a guest to stay overnight with mom and baby.

During their stay, moms are treated to room service and refreshments around the clock. After giving birth, parents are served a celebratory meal plus another to-go when they are discharged so they don’t have to worry about meal planning for their first night at home with their newborn.

Best of all, families are supported by a compassionate team, experienced in caring for moms and babies.

“I love that I impact every single patient that is having a baby, the babies born here, their families, and every single team member, because everyone needs care,” said Robertson.

Her team includes certified breast lactation counselors who provide personalized breast feeding instruction and perinatal nurse educators who teach childbirth education and newborn care classes for the whole family, including siblings.

Family is at the heart of service in the Family Birthing Unit where the team honors each mom’s birth plan and preferences, caring for the families they serve like they care for their own.

Long before Robertson helped deliver the hospital’s 100th baby, she had dedicated her life to caring for little ones as an at-home mother to four.

She discovered her calling to care for other mothers and their babies after her oldest son was involved in a traumatic drowning accident. Following this horrific experience, her family spent 10 days in a pediatric intensive care unit. Her little boy would be fine, and Sally would be forever indebted to the caregivers who not only brought her son through the experience, but also cared for her family so tenderly.

“The nurses took great care of him, and even better care of me. The whole time I was there with him, I kept thinking this is what I want to do for other people.”

When her youngest was in first grade, she returned to school for nursing, went on to earn her master’s degree and became a director and manager in labor and delivery in 2011.

Now, the son who inspired her career path is closely following in her footsteps and works as an emergency department nurse.

She and her expert care team are looking forward to delivering the next 100 babies at the Family Birthing Unit. Follow the UCF Lake Nona Hospital on Facebook or click here to learn more about the hospital’s maternity services.