Guam - Families anticipating a newborn can now wait in comfort at the newly renovated father's waiting room and hallway at the Guam Memorial Hospital. Today was a celebration of life at GMH with the unveiling of the newly renovated father's waiting room and hallway in the maternity ward.

For registered nurse Apple Guillermo who headed the renovation project, the last month of painting has been a labor of love for her and her fellow nurses. "At first it was really a struggle because we lacked time, manpower. We're really just amateurs, we had no experience whatsoever in painting," she said.

Guillermo is especially proud of a "Tree of Life" mural she painted inspired by mothers. "I had an idea of this tree and she is a symbol of life because she's pregnant, but she's my favorite because I just thought of it. I didn't actually think I could do it, but with just the encouragement and help of all my friends and coworkers it came through."

Families anticipating the arrival of a newborn can now enjoy watching from a flatscreen television donated by Dr. Thomas Shieh while sitting on chairs donated by the GMH Volunteers Association. According to Association president Lulu Duenas, her organization donated $26,000 worth of equipment today, saying, "What the Volunteers Association did was we purchased chairs these chairs for the family waiting area here and we also purchased sleeper chairs for the individual rooms."

Duenas says that it's thanks to the benefactors and donors who support the GMH Nteers Association that such donations are possible. "The Volunteers Association exists solely to raise funds to assist the hospital in purchasing equipment services and whatever is needed to really improve the level of healthcare here on our island."

"With the funds that we make we've bought millions of dollars worth of equipment for the hospital and this is just a sample."

At the end of the day, Guillermo says it's the patients that make her job so rewarding. "We really can't do our work as nurses and doctors and medical staff if we don't have the support and appreciation of the patients, and the community members to encourage us to do what we do. Because it's you guys that get us by," she said.

An average of ten births a day take place at the maternity ward.