Fayette Community Hospital, which has grown leaps and bounds in its six-year

existence, wants to help local families grow, too.

Hospital officials hope to offer perinatal (obstetrics) services in the

near future so local women won't have to travel out-of-county to deliver

their babies. All of the counties surrounding Fayette offer childbirth services,

according to state figures.

The hospital has filed paperwork with the Georgia Department of Community

Health asking permission to offer the services, which would include a labor

and delivery department, a neonatal intensive care unit (also called a specialty

care nursery) and a regular nursery as well.

There is no guarantee the application will be approved, and other surrounding

hospitals could oppose the move, which would likely prolong the process.

The need for the services is real, said hospital spokesperson Ryan Duffy.

In 2002, more than 1,000 pregnant women in Fayette County had to deliver

their babies out-of-county, Duffy noted. Fayette County is one of only two

counties in Georgia with a population of over 100,000 whose hospital doesn't

offer perinatal services, Duffy added.

"We're just trying to offer a service the community needs us to

offer," Duffy said.

If the application process goes smoothly, the earliest the hospital could

begin delivering babies is summer 2006, Duffy said.

"We're very excited," Duffy said. "Our community has

been very, very patient."

In fact, there are several obstetricians who already have privileges at

Fayette Community in conjunction with their gynecological practice, Duffy

said. Those obstetricians, however, must deliver babies at another hospital,

Duffy added.

Some babies have been delivered at Fayette Community due to emergency situations,

Duffy confirmed.

"We do have equipment for emergency situations, and we are fully capable

of handling it in an emergency," Duffy added.

In a few cases, local pregnant women have delivered their babies in the

back of an ambulance while they were being transported to an out-of-county

hospital.

Fayette Community wants to add the perinatal service without increasing

its total number of 100 available hospital beds, Duffy said.

"We feel like that's still the best route for us right now," Duffy

said.

The hospital's application included letters of recommendation from

a number of local government officials, physicians and other community leaders.

"We've already received very enthusiastic support from people

in our community who know it's time," for Fayette Community to

deliver babies, Duffy said. "... We're trying not to get too overly

excited about it."