The first baby was born in the new hospital on Jan. 17, 1928 -- nine days after the hospital treated its first patient.

The first baby, a girl, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Hahs of Cape Girardeau.

She weighed only 3 pounds, 9 ounces, and became not only the first baby born at the Hospital but the also the first occupant of one of Southeast's proudest possessions, its incubator.

Baby boom at original Southeast Hospital

If you grew up in Southeast Missouri, there's a good chance you were born at Southeast Missouri Hospital. If not, you surely have friends or family members who were. Southeast has continuously served the region's birthing needs since 1928 and is the area's leading provider of obstetric services.

First NICU to region

We opened the area's first neonatal special care unit for sick newborns in the 1970s. In 1986, we built Cape Girardeau's first LDR (labor, delivery, recovery) suites. And in 2000 we introduced "B@bies Online," our popular Internet nursery.

New LDRP rooms

In 2001, we completed an 18-month complete redesign of our obstetrics center, bringing 15 new LDRP (labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum) suites. Look at our spacious rooms.

Look at our rooms with a virtual tour

Over 900 years of experience

But people choose Southeast for more than our rooms. Our 90-member staff of Southeast Missouri Hospital's obstetric unit has more than 900 years of combined experience -- more than any other birthing center in the region. This means we not only have the experience and expertise to handle the "expected," but also the "unexpected," 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Our birthing center bears name of beloved physician, Dennis B. Elrod. Find out why.