Greg Erhard, director, marketing and physician development at Ohio Valley General Hospital, concedes that he's already a little biased in his choice for the best obstetrics care.

"My wife just delivered a baby here four months ago," Erhard said. "The care she and our baby received was wonderful, but the surroundings were pretty antiquated in some areas."

That will change next summer when Ohio Valley, a private, community-owned hospital in Kennedy, opens a $23 million, four-story maternity and surgical services wing.

"The surroundings will be more pleasing. We'll have state-of-the-art equipment and bigger rooms for young families," Erhard said. "We're all very excited about this expansion."

The project also will enable the outpatient, operating and recovery rooms to be on the same floor.

A groundbreaking ceremony with the theme "You're invited to come and see our new baby being born," will begin the project at 8 a.m. March 21 at the hospital, which is on Heckel Road.

The maternity unit currently is housed in one of the original hospital buildings that was built in 1949. The operating room building was built in 1963 and renovated in 1979.

The 50,000-square-foot addition will be attached to the northwest corner of the hospital and will occupy what currently are parking areas.

Erhard said the construction wouldn't create a parking crunch or inconvenience for visitors or patients. The main entrance will remain unrestricted at all times during the project.

"We will be replacing those lost parking spaces, and there is ample additional room across the street," Erhard said. "In the long run, we actually will gain parking spaces."

Erhard said the addition would replace and modernize the capabilities and technologies now used at the hospital.

Ohio Valley is not following the trend of many other hospitals in consolidating and closing its maternity department.

"We do about 330 births a year and we can do more," Erhard said. "Our board of directors believes that this is a service we want to deliver in the community. The western suburbs are growing and we want to be in a strong position to serve young families."

He said moving maternity and surgical services into the new wing would leave empty space in the old hospital wing so services can be added. That's not possible now because there's no space, Erhard said.

Burt Hill Kosar Rittleman Associates Inc. designed the addition, and Burchick Construction Co. is the general contractor.

Among the features of the new maternity and nursery unit are 10 private rooms for maternity and gynecological surgery; four labor, delivery and recovery rooms; a specially equipped surgical room for emergency Caesarean sections; a nursery; and an infant security system.

The hospital's new surgical services unit will have larger operating rooms and equipment to accommodate inpatient and outpatient surgery, endoscopy and recovery areas; four operating rooms; two orthopedic operating rooms; a cystoscopy room (for urological procedures); and private rooms for outpatients.