LAKEPORT, Calif. – Doctors, nurses, and staff at the Sutter Lakeside Hospital Family Birth Center have welcomed new life into the world for two decades.

The Family Birth Center celebrated its 20th anniversary by hosting a free public event that included bounce houses, face painting, tours of the Birth Center, and local organizations ready to supply information on community resources available to mothers and families.

Among the attendees was Brooke Teverbaugh, the first baby born in the Family Birth Center.

Teverbaugh, born Jan. 23, 1997, grew up in Lake County and regularly visited the staff who helped welcome her into the world.

“I used to go every year on my birthday to visit the Family Birth Center,” said Teverbaugh. “I’d give them an updated picture. I would walk in and one of the nurses would say, ‘You’re the girl on top of our computer!’”

Teverbaugh, who is an honors student at Mendocino College, aspires to teach in Lake County and has received scholarship money from the Lake County division of the California Retired Teachers Association, the Kiwanis Club of Ukiah and Mendocino College.

Her community involvement includes volunteering at the warming shelter, volunteering as a photographer with the Lake County Office of Education’s Hero Project, and working as a substitute para educator at the Lakeport Unified School District for children with special needs.

Renee Teverbaugh looks back with humor on the day she delivered Brooke.

“It was a fun experience,” said Renee. “I never changed a diaper the first two days. The staff were so excited because they’d been waiting for a baby to show up.”

“We love seeing the babies who were born here and where they are now,” said Teresa Campbell, RN, MSN, chief nursing executive, Sutter Lakeside Hospital. “Living in a small community means we get to watch them grow up, in a way. It’s an incredibly rewarding experience.”

Event attendance topped 150 people, many of whom were families who had delivered at the Family Birth Center.

Booths included representatives of the Lakeport Library, Mother-Wise, the Lake County Family Resource Center and Mother’s Instinct. Children also had the opportunity to create a mother’s day card at the crafting table.

For more information about Sutter Lakeside Hospital’s maternity care or Family Birth Center, please call 707-262-5087 or visit www.sutterlakeside.org .
 
Morgen Wells is community relations and fund development coordinator for Sutter Lakeside Hospital.