NICU

Our state-of-the-art NICUs offer family-style designs and flexible visiting hours. In many cases, you are also able to room with your newborn as an added opportunity to bond.

Other special features of our NICUs may include:

• A Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) with the aid of a trained developmental specialist
• Car seat-fitting appointments
• Designated family waiting area
• Infant rooms that enable your family to stay at the bedside as much as they desire
• Kangaroo care, also known as skin-to-skin bonding
• Lactation support and resources, including lactation consultants, donor breast milk options, refrigerators, bottle warmers and breast pumps designed to increase milk production
• NICU CPR and choking classes
• NICU Graduate Reunions (an event for families to spend time with their baby’s caregivers and visit with other NICU graduates and their families)
• Personal amenities (e.g., laundry services and showers)
• Rooms capable of holding twins and triplets
• Secure unit to ensure safety
• Smartphone-enabled baby cameras for live video monitoring
• Specialized beds designed to transfer your baby anywhere in the hospital while remaining in the bed and, in some cases, beds transform from incubators into cribs
• State-of-the-art monitors and ventilators
• Treatment for neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS)

Family support services

Several of our hospitals offer Ronald McDonald Family Rooms as a home-away-from-home right inside the hospital. This allows you to better communicate with your child's medical team, alleviating some of your stress during this difficult time.

Features and services of the Ronald McDonald Family Rooms include:

• Hot food and snacks
• Internet access
• Kitchenette that includes microwave, oven and refrigerator
• Quiet reflection area
• Seating area with a television
• Shower facilities
• Utility room with washer and dryer
• Volunteer staff available daily

NICUs are designated at various levels depending on the type of care they can provide. Levels range from I (basic care) to Level IV (advanced care). Regardless of the level, the goal of a NICU is to get your baby well as quickly as possible.

Our other NICUs work closely with our Level IV NICU at the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children at Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center — the largest NICU in Colorado. If your baby needs a higher level of care than we can provide at Level II or III, we will transfer them rapidly to Level IV so they can get the care they need.

Features of our Level IV NICU include:

• Kangaroo care (skin-to-skin bonding)
• Lactation support
• NICU CPR and choking classes
• Personal amenities, including laundry, showers and concierge services
• Private rooms
• Ronald McDonald Family Room
• Spacious waiting areas
• Support team, which includes a parent educator, social worker, psychologist, case manager, care coordinator and chaplain

Several of our hospitals offer Level III NICUs — some of the highest levels of care for newborns and young babies.

Features of our Level III NICUs include:

• Care for premature infants as early as 32 weeks gestation and low birth-weight babies who are seriously ill
• Life-support equipment, including mechanical ventilation, to help your baby as long as needed before they can breathe and thrive on their own
• Neonatal staff available 24/7

We also offer Level II NICU care conveniently accessible to the Thornton, Westminster, Federal Heights and North Denver areas.

This level NICU provides:

• Care for infants who are feeding and growing stronger after a stay in neonatal intensive care
• Care for premature infants as early as 32 weeks gestation and low birth-weight babies who are moderately ill
• Mechanical ventilation for a brief time or continuous positive airway pressure

Many factors may lead to a newborn being admitted to the NICU, including low birth weight or complications during delivery. Our NICU teams come together to provide comprehensive care and help your baby get home as quickly as possible. Our team may include:

• Board-certified neonatologists (neonatal doctors)
• Chaplains
• Clinical nurse specialists
• Developmental therapy specialists (who help evaluate neurodevelopmental behavior and progress, including motor, feeding and interaction capabilities)
• Hospitalists trained in pediatric care
• Lactation specialists
• Neonatal nurse practitioners and registered nurses
• Nutritionists
• Occupational therapists (who help baby’s muscles work properly)
• Pharmacists
• Respiratory therapists
• Social workers

You will also be an important member of your baby’s NICU team, offering love and comfort to your newborn to promote healing and bonding. We will work with you and your family to accomplish this, involving you every step of the way.