Neonatology Services

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at PGH

Level III Neonatal Intensive Care services are available should your baby require specialized care. Our neonatologists are available around the clock.

Sick or very premature infants and babies requiring close observation are admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The NICU is a Level III plus provider of tertiary newborn services. It has access to various consultants and services that allow treatment of the full range of neonatal problems. The NICU consists of 31 beds divided into three areas: Intensive Care, Intermediate Care, and Isolation. The NICU is patient friendly; there is individual lighting for each baby (generally set to low levels) and acoustic shielding, providing an atmosphere conducive to healing and well-being. One or more NICU physicians are in continual attendance 24-hours-a-day in the Nurseries and labor-delivery areas. During daylight hours these physicians are also assisted by experienced neonatal nurse practitioners. Additionally, a respiratory therapist is continually assigned to the NICU. Plantation General is one of the few hospitals in South Florida that has these levels of expertise in-hospital and around the clock.

Both the Newborn Nursery and the NICU are family oriented and provide, in addition to a high level of medical and nursing care, compassion and caring attention to infants and families. In the NICU, parents are encouraged to visit frequently. Visiting is permitted at all times except during the hours of nursing change of shift (6:30 to 7:30 in the morning and evening) or emergencies. Family, including siblings of any age, and friends may visit, but must be accompanied by a parent. Parents are considered part of the care team and as infants improve, parents are encouraged to provide breast or bottle feedings as appropriate. A parent support group meets once a month (call toll-free 1-866-4HCA-DOCS for more information). At these meetings, parents of NICU babies gather to talk about their situation or meet with experts who may talk about relevant subjects. Our Discharge Coordinator, who is an NICU nurse, helps facilitate a baby's transition from hospital to home. The case manager assigned to the NICU is the one who obtains insurance approval for home equipment, medications and skilled care when necessary. For parents' convenience, we provide a "rooming in" service for parents prior to discharge on complex cases. These rooms are utilized by parents prior to the discharge of their child in order to allow them to practice the skills they will need and to ease this very special passage from hospital to home. To us, providing neonatal intensive care means caring intensively.

We hope you too will see the newborn services at Plantation General as wonderful and unique. At PGH we are "Here For You."

Extra Help When Your Baby Needs It

All babies need care, but there are times when some may need a little more than others. For those newborns, Plantation General Hospital offers an NICU that is not only committed to providing the best care possible for babies but also to making a trying time a little easier for parents.
 
Delivering more than 4,000 babies each year, Plantation General Hospital houses one of the busiest NICUs in the country. The 31-bed NICU offers a Level III unit for newborns who need critical care and a Level II progressive care unit for babies who are more stable. In the Level II unit, parents receive help with discharge planning, as well as education designed to help them care for their newborn.

For Perri and Neil Trenk whose daughter Alexa received care in the NICU, Plantation General's up-to-date technology and capable staff were invaluable. "Alexa was born when I was only 23 weeks pregnant, and she was given a 20 percent chance to make it," says Trenk. "Today, she is in kindergarten, and the quality of her life is as normal as it could be. I'm so thankful she was born at Plantation General--they did a wonderful job.

The Best Care For Baby

Newborns are in good hands at Plantation General's NICU. Five board-certified and attending-level neonatologists are on staff full time. As an added bonus, a neonatologist is on-site 24 hours a day, so parents have the assurance a specialist is always available to provide extra care for their newborn.

In addition to the expertise of the neonatologists, the NICU at Plantation General employs a top-notch nursing staff. All the nurses in the NICU have been trained in neonatal intensive care, and they keep up-to-date on the latest advances by attending seminars throughout the year. In addition to being knowledgeable, the nursing staff is also experienced.

"One of the strengths of our NICU is its stability," says Barry Chandler, M.D., neonatologist and medical director of the NICU at Plantation General. "We've had the same nursing staff for many years. Because of this stability, we've built an excellent relationship with one another and function as a truly integrated team. Parents see this, and they know we are providing their babies with unified care. In a stressful environment, this has a calming effect on parents."

This integrated care can be seen every Monday in the NICU during group rounds. "During these rounds, an interdisciplinary team consisting of a case manager, nurse practitioner, neonatologist, respiratory therapist, nurse and lactation consultant visits each and every newborn's bedside to discuss the baby's care," explains Donna Nicorgski, director of Plantation General Hospital's NICU. "All the disciplines are involved and offer their input. This type of communication has improved the quality of care for our infants."

Family Centered Care

When a newborn needs extra care, the staff at Plantation General's NICU knows that it's not only the baby who is affected. While providing the highest quality care for the newborn, the NICU staff also seeks to meet the needs of the family in a variety of ways.

Lean On Us

The days, weeks, or months a newborn spends in NICU can be a trying time for parents. To help ease parents' concerns, the NICU offers a monthly Parent Support Group. "Parents who had premature babies are invited to come back and talk with parents of babies who are currently in the NICU," explains Nicgorski. "This gives parents firsthand experience with people who understand what they are going through."

This level of communication goes a long way to ease parents' concerns, and it isn't just confined to support group meetings. Families speak with a nurse practitioner every day, and a doctor is always available when the family has questions or concerns.

The nursing staff at Plantation General works to assure families they aren't isolated from their newborn just because the baby is in NICU. "Because parents want to be in the NICU when it's convenient for them, we offer open visitation. Parents can visit any time, night or day," says Nicorgski. "The only time the NICU is not open is during a shift change or in an emergency."

Open visitation gives parents the opportunity to interact with their newborn and learn how to care for their baby. When babies are more stable, this interaction may take the form of Kangaroo Care.

"Studies have shown that skin-to-skin contact helps babies grow, stabilizes their temperatures, and provides important bonding time with parents," explains Nicorgski. Aptly named after the kangaroo's practice of carrying its newborn close to its body in a pouch, Kangaroo Care at Plantation General offers parents the opportunity to sit in a private area and hold their newborn next to their bare skin.

Breastfeeding Options

A baby in the NICU may not be able to breastfeed immediately. To assure that babies start with mothers' milk, women who plan to breastfeed can store their pumped breast milk and colostrum in an on-site freezer until it's needed.

Plantation General also has a lactation center. To assure that moms who haven't been able to breastfeed immediately are successful, lactation consultants are available to work with new moms one-on-one. Lactation consultants offer "Breastfeeding Your Baby" classes before delivery, and upon request, they meet with new moms after delivery.

CPR Classes

The staff at Plantation General's NICU wants parents to feel confident caring for their baby at home. To increase parent's confidence, Plantation General holds infant CPR classes once a week for families with babies in the NICU. "A large number of the babies in our unit were born premature," says Nicorgski. "These classes, led by nurses certified in teaching CPR, help parents feel more comfortable when they take their baby home."

More Than A Days Work

"Working in the NICU has been very rewarding," says Dr. Chandler. "In 1986, for example, we cared for the smallest, surviving premature baby --she was only 21 weeks gestation. Now she's 14 years old."

Nicorgski agrees that the rewards of the job are many. "All the nurses in the unit love their work, and it shows in how they care for the babies," she says. "It's extremely satisfying to work with these babies so they can go home with their parents. It's especially rewarding when parents come back with their children to visit us."