Eva Jansen poses with Claire in the parking garage where Claire was born.

The Our Lady of Mercy Wing is set to be completed by the summer of 2012. Click here to visit the Redevelopment News section of our website for the latest information on this project.

The first baby has been delivered in the Health Centre's new Our Lady of Mercy Patient Care Wing.

Well, sort of.

Even though the actual building is still a few years away from being complete, that didn't stop one family from giving birth in the new parking garage. Baby Claire Jansen couldn't wait for her mom, Eva, to reach the Health Centre's Labour and Delivery floor. Instead, the little one decided to make her entrance into the world a memory that her family and St. Joe's staff would never forget. On May 31, while parked in the Health Centre's new Emergency Department parking lot, Scott Jansen delivered his baby daughter in the passenger seat of their family's car.

After her labour started earlier that morning, Eva made arrangements to meet the family's midwife at the Health Centre for 10:00 a.m. Everything seemed to be on track and it was just a matter of time before the couple would greet their newest addition.

"It only takes about 15-minutes for us to drive to the Health Centre," Eva recalls with a chuckle. "But in the last five minutes (on the way there), my labour just progressed so quickly. We had initially planned to park in the parking garage on Sunnyside, but once we were on The Queensway, I told my husband Scott to go straight to the Emergency Department."

Baby Claire was a lot faster than mom had thought. By the time Scott was able to park the car and run around to open the passenger door, Eva realized she couldn't move because her baby was almost out! With Scott's help, the couple delivered their beautiful daughter safely.

"Scott was great," said Eva. "He actually credits the prenatal classes we took which made a huge difference." Once he made sure that Eva and the baby were okay, Scott went to round up the professionals.

"Scott ran into the Emergency Department, skipped the ER desk and went straight to the first EMS person he saw," said Eva. Within seconds, she and Claire were tended to by a paramedic and a few of our Emergency Department staff. "Everyone responded so quickly, they were great. They checked that we were okay and got us up to Labour and Delivery."

In the end, Eva jokes about still being able to meet her midwife on time in Labour and Delivery Department with a smile on her face and a new little bundle of joy in her arms.

Congratulations to the Jansen family on welcoming their newest family member!

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Page last updated: April 30, 2010