The Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital is part of New Jersey’s first state-designated Regional Perinatal Center. Our NICU is licensed for 54 bassinets and provides the most comprehensive neonatal care in the state for newborn and infants with medical or surgical problems.
Our philosophy of care is family-based, ensuring that the best care is provided in the most caring, individualized, personal manner.
The NICU at Saint Peter’s Children’s Hospital is staffed 24 hours a day by a board certified neonatologist, nurse practitioners, a physician assistant, registered nurses, respiratory therapists, and a neonatal-trained pharmacist and social worker. Also available on call 24 hours a day are specialists in multiple pediatric specialists.
Neonatal Pharmacy
The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit satellite pharmacy opened in 1995 to provide high-quality, patient-centered care to the intensive care and special care nurseries at The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital. Staffed seven days a week by pharmacists and technicians specially trained in neonatal pharmacotherapy, this is a full-service pharmacy that provides all medication doses in a ready-to-use form. Staff neonatal clinical pharmacy specialists work closely with multidisciplinary healthcare teams to provide safe and effective treatments for newborns.
Infant Apnea
The Infant Apnea Center provides care to infants who are at risk of suffering from this sleep disorder. When home monitoring is necessary, the Center provides parents or caregivers with monitor and CPR training, cardiorespiratory monitors, medications, and oxygen therapy training.
Neonatology
The neonatologists (newborn specialists) and perinatologists (doctors who specialize in high-risk pregnancies) work together with pediatric cardiologists, surgeons, geneticist, neurologists, neurosurgeons, nephrologists, urologists, nurses and many others who are experts in the care of infants and children.
Pediatric Cardiology
At the CHOP Cardiac Center at Saint Peter's Children's Hospital, board-certified pediatric cardiologists, a nurse clinician and cardiac technologists offer comprehensive services for infants, children and young adults with all forms of acquired and congenital heart disease as well as electrical disorders of the heart. Conditions treated here include heart murmurs, congestive heart failure, rheumatic fever, Kawasaki disease and arrhythmias.
Arrangements and Special Accommodations
When a baby must stay in the hospital, the whole family can feel the strain, emotionally and financially. We offer a number of support services to help parents know what to expect and to acquaint them with the people, surroundings and many support services available at Saint Peter’s. Our NICU has a PhD clinical psychologist available for our parents for either a one-to-one meeting or a group meeting.
At the NICU, your family comes first. Each family receives a complete information notebook developed by the NICU staff. Parents are encouraged to talk with our staff about anything at any time, and to visit as much as possible. When parents do not live nearby, they may stay in a room set aside for them near the NICU. The Ronald McDonald House is located a few blocks away from Saint Peter’s in New Brunswick. Our social work staff will assist with making arrangements for accommodations.
High Risk Infant Follow-up
Specialists in our Newborn Follow-Up Clinic provides comprehensive, continuing care for babies who are at risk for developmental and neurological problems. Specific services include developmental, hearing, medical and motor evaluations; social work services; and speech and language assessments.
When the time comes to be discharged from the NICU, a nurse reviews the newborn’s care at home, procedures for making follow-up appointments and the discharge process.