Maternity waiting room gets rebirth

Donated photos, castings and paintings make the maternity waiting room
celebratory and welcoming.

By ALISON KEMP

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

WARREN — The maternity wing at Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital is about new life, and Vicki Hunter of Cortland, Alane Jewel of Sharon and Diane Zarlingo of Howland believed the maternity waiting room should celebrate mothers, babies and birth.

They donated their artistic talents to renovate the room.

“We absolutely wanted to connect with other women and families,” Zarlingo said.

The waiting room went from bluish wallpaper to a taupe-colored paint adorned with black and white photographs of newborn babies that Hunter took, a belly cast and a baby bottom cast by Zarlingo, and decorative painting by Jewel.

Ideas for this project began when Marsha LaPolla, nurse manager at TMH, met Hunter at a baby health fair the hospital sponsors. LaPolla liked Hunter’s photographs, and Hunter said she would like to donate some to the hospital. Hunter asked Zarlingo to participate, and Jewel jumped on board, too.

They developed a theme and presented their ideas to LaPolla. She approved.

LaPolla likes that the room is “really centered to mom and baby.”

“We were appreciative that someone showed concern” for the facility and patients, she added.

She said these additions fit in with other changes the maternity wing has been making. “We’re trying to pamper mom more,” she said.

There are now massages, room service and backpacks for moms, activity bags for siblings and a meal for dad.

Feedback for the changes has only been positive, LaPolla said.

“I think it all started here in this room,” she said. “Everyone sees the art and gets talking ...They’ve become part of making this a good experience for the family.”

This was the first time the three artists worked together.

“You think of us as individuals, but it’s so rewarding when we put our talents together,” Jewel said.

One of their talents is knowing what it is like to struggle with pregnancy.

“Not everybody gets to stay pregnant. Sometimes we forget that can happen,” Zarlingo said.

So their art is “about celebrating a moment,” Jewel said.

All three women mentioned how they enjoy the fact that their work perseveres.

Both Hunter and Zarlingo’s work are a remembrance of how big the mother’s belly was and how small the newborn is; and Jewel’s painting shows personal feelings from the mother at the time of the commission.

“We realize we might not be here tomorrow,” Zarlingo said, but with their art, a part will always be there.

akemp@vindy.com