Soldier witnesses son’s birth via Skype
1
When Air Force Air- man First Class Chris- tian (Chris) Lopez was deployed to the Middle East last April, his wife Amber, 18, was pregnant with their second child and due in September. On Sat- urday, Sept. 10, Chris, 20, was able to witness the birth of his son, Declan James Lopez, born at 9:27 a.m. at St. Mary Mercy’s Hospital’s Birthing Center, via Skype. “I’m extremely thrilled and happy,” he said. “The experience made it feel like a little piece of home, actually being able to see everything as it hap- pened.” Prior to the birth, the South Lyon couple fre- quently kept in touch using Skype, a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chats over the Internet. Knowing oth- er military couples had used this technology dur- ing labor and delivery, Amber approached her OB/Gyn, Tim Johnson, M.D., of Westside Obstet- rics & Gynecology, a staff physician at St. Mary Mer- cy in Livonia. “Dr. Johnson was really excited about it when we first started talk- ing about it,” explained Amber. In a collaborative effort, St. Mary Mercy physi- cians, Birthing Center and information technology staff came together for St. Mary Mercy’s first Sky- pe birth broadcast. Hav- ing a difficult delivery of their first child, 1-year- old daughter Addison, “we were determined Amber was going to have a good experience this time,” said Deborah Ainsworth, a reg- istered nurse and Birthing Center director. A webcam and laptop were set up bedside where Chris could view the action just as if he were in the room. Arriving a few days ear- ly, the 7 pound, 12 ounce, 21-inch baby boy was born on his great-grand- mother’s birthday. He was delivered by on-call OB/ Gyn Karol Otteman, D.O. “As a military family, the distance can be hard, but this experience was real- ly nice,” Amber said. “This was so much better than just being on the phone because he could actually see him live. St. Mary Mer- cy took care of everything and made it perfect.” (L) LOCAL NEWS online at hometownlife.com A6 Observer & Eccentric | Sunday, September 18, 2011 Wayne County Com- missioner Joan Geb- hardt (D-District 12) joined Chairman Gary Woronchak, County Executive Robert Fica- no and Sheriff Benny Napoleon in a ground- breaking ceremony Thursday on a $300 mil- lion state-of-the-art jail facility. The new 715,000- square-foot Wayne County Jail will be located downtown across from Frank Mur- phy Hall of Justice on property bordering Gra- tiot, St. Antoine, Clinton and the Chrysler Ser- vice Drive. It is sched- uled to open July 2014. “It is the responsibil- ity of the Wayne Coun- ty Commission under the county charter to approve contracts and ensure that the peo- ple’s best interests are in order with a project of this magnitude,” said Gebhardt, who made motions on several fronts to see the project through. “The Commis- sion has done its job and I have to feel excited about the jobs this will bring to so many hard- working families in our area.” According to Geb- hardt, the new jail will save the county money by using new technolo- gies and the latest best practices for prisoner movement and super- vision, and will also create safer environ- ments for prisoners and employees. “I say with confidence that we have done our job well, and we stand here as partners in this ambitious and outstand- ing venture for which we are breaking ground today,” Woronchak said. It is also estimated that more than 2,000 jobs will be created by the project, which is one of the largest construc- tion initiatives Wayne County has launched in several years. The facility will have 2,192 beds and house prisoners who would currently be in two downtown jails and a jail in Hamtramck. The downtown jails, built in 1929 and 1981, are expected to be demol- ished. The fate of the Hamtramck facility, in operation since 1991, remains unclear. Video visitation will be one new feature for the facility as prison- ers will now be able to meet with relatives and clergy from their cells by way of cameras and television screens. “Building a new jail isn’t cause to cele- brate,” Ficano said. “What we are saying is in these economic times, you have to look at everything in terms of improving efficien- cy and cutting costs. That’s what this project will do.” Wayne County, in an effort to stimulate local economic activity, used a consulting firm to prequalify contractors. Presently, approximate- ly 425 potential con- tractors have been pre- qualified. Of those can- didates, 60 percent are Wayne County- and City of Detroit-based. “There is no question this center is crucial to alleviating many of our fiscal issues,” Sher- iff Napoleon said. “We know that we cannot incarcerate our way out of the ills plaguing our county. However, we can take the measured steps to streamline our system so that mon- ey we have available is being used to its utmost benefit.” Amber Lopez holds baby Declan James while father Chris watches from the laptop screen. A webcam was hooked onto the baby warmer so Chris could view Declan. County officials break ground on new jail Soldier witnesses son’s birth via Skype FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @hometownlife W W e e S S e e l l l l , , S S e e r r v vi i c c e e a a n n d d W W e e S S e e l l l l , , S S e e r r v vi i c c e e a a n n d d W e Sell, Ser vice a n d I I n n s st t a a l l l l A A l l l l B B r r a a n n d d s s I I n n s st t a a l l l l A A l l l l B B r r a a n n d d s s In sta ll All B ra n d s OE08748763 Serving theentirem etopolit a na rea . East: 58 6 -274-1155 D own rive r: 734-28 1-3024 West: 734-422-8 08 0 • • North W ood wa rd : 248 -548 -9 56 5 D e troit: 313-79 2-0770 • • S e rvice cha n g e s & u pg ra d e s •O u tle ts a d d e d •G e n e ra tors • In s ta lla tion off ixtu re s, c e ilin g f a n s , hot w a te r he a te rs, g a ra g e s, pools, & ou td oorlig htin g S A VE $20.00...NOW ONLY ! $ $ $ $ $ 6 6 9 9 . . 9 9 5 5 6 6 9 9 . . 9 9 5 5 6 9 .9 5 With this ad. Not valid with any other offers. Expires 12-31-11 F F U U R R N N A A C C E E C C L L E E A A N N I I N N G G & & F F U U R R N N A A C C E E C C L L E E A A N N I I N N G G & & F URNAC E C L E ANING & I I N N S S P P E E C C T T I I O O N N S S P P E E C C I I A A L L I I N N S S P P E E C C T T I I O O N N S S P P E E C C I I A A L L INS P EC TION S P EC IAL R EG .$89.95 F U U L L L L E E L L E E C C T T R R I I C C A A L L F F U U L L L L E E L L E E C C T T R R I I C C A A L L F UL L E L E C TRIC AL D D E E P P A A R R T T M M E E N N T T D D E E P P A A R R T T M M E E N N T T D E P ARTM E NT M M A A S S T TE E R R M M A A S S T TE E R R M A STER E E L L E E C C T TR R I I C C I I A A N N S S ! ! E E L L E E C C T TR R I I C C I I A A N N S S ! ! EL ECTRICIA NS! F F U U R R N N A A C C E E F F U U R R N N A A C C E E F URNAC E S S A A L L E E S S , , S S A A L L E E S S , , SA L ES, S S E E R R V V I I C C E E , , S S E E R R V V I I C C E E , , SERVICE, P PA A R R T TS S & & P PA A R R T TS S & & PA RTS & I I N N S S T T A A L L L L A A T TI I O O N N I I N N S S T T A A L L L L A A T TI I O O N N INSTA L L A TION LICE NS E D & INS UR E D #71-16061 A $90 VALUE F F R R E E E E G G u u t t t t e e r r C C l l e e a a n n i i n n g g F R EE Gutter C le a n in g NO LE AVE S -NO M E S S -NO LAD D E R S = NO W OR K P R OT ECT ING Y OUR INVES T M ENT , Y OUR HOME GOOD $ 4.75 Lin . F t .I nst a lled 5 Y EAR G UARANTEE only B ETTER $ 7.6 5 Lin . F t .I nst a lled 10 Y EAR G UARANTEE only BEST $ 9.90 Lin . F t .I nst a lled 20 Y EAR G UARANTEE only Cutt in g Cost NotQuality FE ATUR ING G UTTE R G UAR D S FO R E VE R YBUD G E T FREE OF F IC E V ISIT ($29.00 Va lu e) N ew Clients O nly W ith Coupon 4 0% OFF Spa y,N euter or D en tal W or k B loodw ork,P ain M gt. &I/V Fluid Extra W ith Coupon A n n ua l D og/C at V a ccin e P k g. $79 1 1 655 F arm in gton Rd. (JustN .of P lym outh R d.) L ivon ia 734 . 4 21 . P E TS (7387) www. a qua lityca rev et. c om OPEN 7 D A YS E m ergen c ies W elcom e Board in g & G room in g O E08754574 A -QUA L ITY C A R E A -QUA L ITY C A R E N ew er Sta te ofthe A rtFa c ility V E TE R INA R Y H OSP ITA L H E A R TW ORM TE ST SPECIAL $20 to $25 W ith purch a seof 1 2or 6m on th h eartw orm tab lets Exa m ,V a ccines & Feca l Test A sk ForD eta ils - N ew Clients O nly,W ith Coupon
description
Air Force Airman deployed to the MiddleEast witnesses the birth of his son via Skype at St. Mary Mercy’s Hospital’s Birthing Center.
Transcript of Soldier witnesses son’s birth via Skype
WhenAir ForceAir-manFirst ClassChris-tian (Chris) Lopezwasdeployed to theMiddleEast lastApril, hiswifeAmber, 18,was pregnantwith their second child anddue in September. OnSat-urday, Sept. 10, Chris, 20,was able towitness thebirth of his son,DeclanJamesLopez, born at 9:27a.m. at St.MaryMercy’sHospital’s BirthingCenter,via Skype.“I’m extremely thrilled
and happy,” he said. “Theexperiencemade it feellike a little piece of home,actually being able to
see everything as it hap-pened.”Prior to the birth, the
SouthLyon couple fre-quently kept in touchusing Skype, a softwareapplication that allowsusers tomake voice andvideo calls and chats overthe Internet. Knowing oth-ermilitary couples hadused this technology dur-ing labor and delivery,Amber approached herOB/Gyn, TimJohnson,M.D., ofWestsideObstet-rics&Gynecology, a staffphysician at St.MaryMer-cy in Livonia. “Dr. Johnsonwas really excited about it
whenwe first started talk-ing about it,” explainedAmber.In a collaborative effort,
St.MaryMercy physi-cians, BirthingCenter andinformation technologystaff came together for St.MaryMercy’s first Sky-pe birth broadcast.Hav-ing a difficult delivery oftheir first child, 1-year-old daughterAddison, “wewere determinedAmberwas going to have a goodexperience this time,” saidDeborahAinsworth, a reg-istered nurse andBirthingCenter director. Awebcamand laptopwere set up
bedsidewhereChris couldview the action just as ifhewere in the room.Arriving a fewdays ear-
ly, the 7 pound, 12 ounce,21-inch babyboywasborn on his great-grand-mother’s birthday.Hewasdelivered by on-call OB/GynKarolOtteman,D.O.“As amilitary family, the
distance can be hard, butthis experiencewas real-ly nice,”Amber said. “Thiswas somuchbetter thanjust being on the phonebecause he could actuallysee him live. St.MaryMer-cy took care of everythingandmade it perfect.”
(L) LOCAL NEWS online at hometownlife.comA6 Observer & Eccentric | Sunday, September 18, 2011
Wayne County Com-missioner Joan Geb-hardt (D-District 12)joined Chairman GaryWoronchak, CountyExecutive Robert Fica-no and Sheriff BennyNapoleon in a ground-breaking ceremonyThursday on a $300 mil-lion state-of-the-art jailfacility.The new 715,000-
square-foot WayneCounty Jail will belocated downtownacross from Frank Mur-phy Hall of Justice onproperty bordering Gra-tiot, St. Antoine, Clintonand the Chrysler Ser-vice Drive. It is sched-uled to open July 2014.“It is the responsibil-
ity of the Wayne Coun-ty Commission underthe county charter toapprove contracts andensure that the peo-ple’s best interests arein order with a projectof this magnitude,” saidGebhardt, who mademotions on severalfronts to see the projectthrough. “The Commis-sion has done its job andI have to feel excitedabout the jobs this willbring to so many hard-working families in ourarea.”According to Geb-
hardt, the new jail willsave the county moneyby using new technolo-gies and the latest bestpractices for prisonermovement and super-vision, and will alsocreate safer environ-ments for prisoners andemployees.“I say with confidence
that we have done ourjob well, and we standhere as partners in thisambitious and outstand-ing venture for whichwe are breaking groundtoday,” Woronchak said.It is also estimated
that more than 2,000jobs will be created by
the project, which is oneof the largest construc-tion initiatives WayneCounty has launched inseveral years.The facility will have
2,192 beds and houseprisoners who wouldcurrently be in twodowntown jails and ajail in Hamtramck. Thedowntown jails, builtin 1929 and 1981, areexpected to be demol-ished. The fate of theHamtramck facility, inoperation since 1991,remains unclear.Video visitation will
be one new feature forthe facility as prison-ers will now be able tomeet with relatives andclergy from their cellsby way of cameras andtelevision screens.“Building a new jail
isn’t cause to cele-brate,” Ficano said.“What we are sayingis in these economictimes, you have to lookat everything in termsof improving efficien-cy and cutting costs.That’s what this projectwill do.”Wayne County, in an
effort to stimulate localeconomic activity, useda consulting firm toprequalify contractors.Presently, approximate-ly 425 potential con-tractors have been pre-qualified. Of those can-didates, 60 percent areWayne County- and Cityof Detroit-based.“There is no question
this center is crucialto alleviating many ofour fiscal issues,” Sher-iff Napoleon said. “Weknow that we cannotincarcerate our way outof the ills plaguing ourcounty. However, wecan take the measuredsteps to streamline oursystem so that mon-ey we have available isbeing used to its utmostbenefit.”
Amber Lopez holds baby Declan James while father Chris watches from the laptop screen.
A webcam was hooked onto the baby warmer so Chriscould view Declan.
County officialsbreak groundon new jail
Soldier witnessesson’s birth via Skype
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
@hometownlifeWW ee SSeellll,, SSeerr vviiccee aa nn ddWW ee SSeellll,, SSeerr vviiccee aa nn ddW e Sell, Ser vice a n dIInn ssttaa llll AA llll BB rr aa nn dd ssIInn ssttaa llll AA llll BB rr aa nn dd ssIn sta ll A ll B r a n d s
OE
08748763
Serving the entire m etopolita n a rea .
E a s t:58 6 -274-1155
D ow n rive r:734-28 1-3024
W e s t:734-422-8 08 0• •
North W ood w a rd :248 -548 -9 56 5
D e troit:313-79 2-0770•
• S e rvic e c ha n g e s & u pg ra d e s• O u tle ts a d d e d • G e n e ra tors• In s ta lla tion offixtu re s ,c e ilin g fa n s , hot w a te rhe a te rs , g a ra g e s , pools ,
& ou td oorlig htin g
S A VE $20.00...NOW ONLY !$$$$$ 66 99 ..99 5566 99 ..99 556 9 .9 5
With this ad. Not valid with any other offers. Expires 12-31-11
FF UURRNNAACC EE CC LL EE AANNIINNGG &&FF UURRNNAACC EE CC LL EE AANNIINNGG &&F URNAC E C L E ANING &
IINN SS PP EE CC TTIIOONN SS PP EE CC IIAALLIINN SS PP EE CC TTIIOONN SS PP EE CC IIAALLINS P E C TION S P E C IAL
R E G .$89.95
FF UULL LL EE LL EE CC TTRRIICC AALLFF UULL LL EE LL EE CC TTRRIICC AALLF UL L E L E C TRIC ALDD EE PP AARRTTMM EE NNTTDD EE PP AARRTTMM EE NNTTD E P ARTM E NT
MM AA SSTTEERRMM AA SSTTEERRM A STEREELL EECCTTRRIICCIIAA NNSS!!EELL EECCTTRRIICCIIAA NNSS!!EL ECTRICIA NS!
FF UURRNNAACC EEFF UURRNNAACC EEF URNAC ESS AA LL EESS,,SS AA LL EESS,,SA L ES,SSEERRVVIICCEE,,SSEERRVVIICCEE,,SERVICE,PPAA RRTTSS &&PPAA RRTTSS &&PA RTS &
IINNSSTTAA LL LL AA TTIIOONNIINNSSTTAA LL LL AA TTIIOONNINSTA L L A TIONLICE NS E D &INS UR E D#71-16061
A $90VALUE
FF RR EEEE GG uu tt tt ee rr CC ll ee aa nn ii nn ggF R EE G u t t e r C l e a n i n gNO LE AVE S -NO M E S S -NO LAD D E R S = NO W OR KP R O T ECT ING Y OUR INVES T M ENT , Y OUR HOM E
GOOD$4.75
Lin . F t. In s ta lled5 Y EAR
G UARANTEE
o n lyBETTER
$7.6 5Lin . F t. In s ta lled10 Y EAR
G UARANTEE
o n lyBEST$9.90
Lin . F t. In s ta lled20 Y EAR
G UARANTEE
o n ly
Cuttin g CostNotQuality FE ATUR ING G UTTE R G UAR D S FO R E VE R Y BUD G E T
F R E EO F F IC EV ISIT($29.00 Va lu e)
N ew Clients O nlyW ith Coupon
4 0%O F F
Spa y,N euteror D en ta l W or k
B loodw ork,P a in M gt.& I/V Fluid ExtraW ith Coupon
A n n ua lD og/C a t
V a c c in e P k g.$79
1 1 655 F a r m in gton R d .(Ju stN .o f P ly m o u th R d .) L iv on ia
734 .4 21 .P E TS (7387)w w w .a qua lityc a r ev et.c om
O P E N7 D A YS
Em ergenc iesW elc om e
Boa r d in g & G r oom in g
OE08754574
A -Q U A L ITY C A R EA -Q U A L ITY C A R EN ew er Sta te ofthe A rtFa c ility
V E TE R IN A R Y H O SP ITA L
H E A R TW O R M TE STSP E C IA L $20 to $25
W ith pur c h a se of1 2 or 6 m on th
h ea r tw or m ta b lets
Exa m ,V a ccines & Feca l TestA sk ForD eta ils - N ew Clients
O nly,W ith Coupon
