Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
Newborn babies who need intensive medical attention often are admitted
into a special area of the hospital called the Neonatal Intensive Care
Unit (NICU). Opened in 2007, the newly renovated NICU offers 38 beds.
Babies in the NICU are cared for by our team of two neonatologists and
a neonatal nurse practitioner. NICU nurses specialize in providing care
for the smallest and most fragile babies. Therapists, dietitians, lactation
consultants, pharmacists, social workers, and chaplains are also part
of the NICU team.
Many times babies and children in the region need a higher level care than
can be provided in smaller hospitals. We maintain a specialty transport
team of trained nurses and respiratory therapist that travels by air or
ambulance to the regional hospitals to stabilize and safely transport
these patients back to Covenant Children’s.
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Children who need special care for a critical condition are admitted to
the hospital’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). The 20-bed
unit is staffed with physicians, nurses and other care professionals expertly
trained and skilled in caring for children under serious or life-threatening
circumstances. A physician specializing in caring for critically ill children
is on the unit 24 hours a day. Children in intermediate care – those
who are improving but not yet ready to leave intensive care – are
followed by a hospitalist, a physician whose practice is exclusively for
hospitalized children.