Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital commemorates the 18th birthday of the first baby born at its hospital
Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital’s landmark 20th anniversary isn’t until 2018, but the hospital is celebrating a sweet milestone in 2016: The first baby that was born at the hospital is graduating high school, preparing for college and turning 18 this year.
As one of the original services offered at the hospital when it officially opened on March 2, 1998, the Birthing Center delivered its first baby less than a week after opening. On March 8 at 6:15 p.m., Logan Chase Pate was born to Martin and Pam Pate, weighing 8 pounds, 8 ounces and measuring 21 inches. His mother, Pam, credits nurse Ginger Qualls, LVN, who helped her through her pregnancy, and her longtime obstetrician-gynecologist, Dr. Gene Huebner, with keeping her focused on delivering a healthy baby. Huebner delivered Logan two weeks before his due date and had previously delivered one of Pam’s daughters.
Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital delivers an average of 300 babies every month, which correlates to 3,600 babies per year. Since Logan’s birth, more than 60,000 babies have been born at the hospital, but Pam had a one-of-a-kind experience as the first patient in labor to be admitted. Pam compares her experience at the Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital Birthing Center to being the inaugural guest at a gleaming new hotel, complete with room service and a jacuzzi in her delivery suite. Such amenities were things she and her husband, Martin, had never seen before at a hospital.
“The time arrives, Logan was ready, and to my surprise I did not have to change rooms as the beds transformed into a delivery table with just the touch of a button,” said Pam. “This was a brand new hospital, everyone was excited, and we were part of its beginning — we are forever part of its history.”
Eighteen years later, Logan is a senior at Fort Bend ISD’s Travis High School and has a passion for golf. He’s been playing competitively for seven years, winning or placing across the state, and has earned numerous awards for his success in the sport. Logan has been the District Champion for two years for Travis High School and played at the State Tournament in 2015. In addition to these accomplishments, Logan helps young athletes reach their goals by volunteering as an instructor for the First Tee of Greater Houston. Logan is considering attending The University of Arkansas, Little Rock, or McClennan Community College in Waco to play golf and study Criminal Justice. Pam claims there isn’t a time when she, Martin or Logan do not reflect on Logan’s memorable birth whenever they drive by or visit Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital.
The Birthing Center is a full-service childbirth facility and provides prenatal care, labor, delivery, postpartum and neonatal care, as well as an advanced Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to care for high-risk newborns born 30 weeks or later. The center has grown year after year to meet the needs of the growing Fort Bend community, and is expanding for the third time. The one floor unit, which has 26 post-partum rooms, 12 well-baby beds, 12 birthing rooms, nine level two nursery beds and two C-section rooms, is being expanded to two floors in the hospital’s Sweetwater Pavilion to ensure Fort Bend mothers and babies continue to receive personalized care in a comfortable setting with state-of-the-art technology for years to come.
While Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital continues to grow and prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary, it is the milestones reached with patients like the Pate family that hold the most merit. For more information about the Birthing Center, visit houstonmethodist.org/sugarland.
As one of the original services offered at the hospital when it officially opened on March 2, 1998, the Birthing Center delivered its first baby less than a week after opening. On March 8 at 6:15 p.m., Logan Chase Pate was born to Martin and Pam Pate, weighing 8 pounds, 8 ounces and measuring 21 inches. His mother, Pam, credits nurse Ginger Qualls, LVN, who helped her through her pregnancy, and her longtime obstetrician-gynecologist, Dr. Gene Huebner, with keeping her focused on delivering a healthy baby. Huebner delivered Logan two weeks before his due date and had previously delivered one of Pam’s daughters.
Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital delivers an average of 300 babies every month, which correlates to 3,600 babies per year. Since Logan’s birth, more than 60,000 babies have been born at the hospital, but Pam had a one-of-a-kind experience as the first patient in labor to be admitted. Pam compares her experience at the Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital Birthing Center to being the inaugural guest at a gleaming new hotel, complete with room service and a jacuzzi in her delivery suite. Such amenities were things she and her husband, Martin, had never seen before at a hospital.
“The time arrives, Logan was ready, and to my surprise I did not have to change rooms as the beds transformed into a delivery table with just the touch of a button,” said Pam. “This was a brand new hospital, everyone was excited, and we were part of its beginning — we are forever part of its history.”
Eighteen years later, Logan is a senior at Fort Bend ISD’s Travis High School and has a passion for golf. He’s been playing competitively for seven years, winning or placing across the state, and has earned numerous awards for his success in the sport. Logan has been the District Champion for two years for Travis High School and played at the State Tournament in 2015. In addition to these accomplishments, Logan helps young athletes reach their goals by volunteering as an instructor for the First Tee of Greater Houston. Logan is considering attending The University of Arkansas, Little Rock, or McClennan Community College in Waco to play golf and study Criminal Justice. Pam claims there isn’t a time when she, Martin or Logan do not reflect on Logan’s memorable birth whenever they drive by or visit Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital.
The Birthing Center is a full-service childbirth facility and provides prenatal care, labor, delivery, postpartum and neonatal care, as well as an advanced Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to care for high-risk newborns born 30 weeks or later. The center has grown year after year to meet the needs of the growing Fort Bend community, and is expanding for the third time. The one floor unit, which has 26 post-partum rooms, 12 well-baby beds, 12 birthing rooms, nine level two nursery beds and two C-section rooms, is being expanded to two floors in the hospital’s Sweetwater Pavilion to ensure Fort Bend mothers and babies continue to receive personalized care in a comfortable setting with state-of-the-art technology for years to come.
While Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital continues to grow and prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary, it is the milestones reached with patients like the Pate family that hold the most merit. For more information about the Birthing Center, visit houstonmethodist.org/sugarland.