Construction begins in June 2012 for a CHOC-licensed Level II NICU inside St. Joseph Hospital. CHOC will open the 13-bed unit on 4 North, adjacent to St. Joseph Hospital’s new post-partum unit, which is scheduled to open in November.Construction of the new NICU will be completed by the end of this year.
Staffed by CHOC physicians and employees, the new NICU is designated for infants born at 32 weeks or greater who are moderately ill or at moderate risk for developing complications as a result of prematurity or illness. Infants requiring a higher level of care will continue being transported to CHOC’s 54-bed Level III NICU.
Each private room will contain family space, including overnight accommodation for one parent. According to Linda Glenn, M.N., CHOC NICU clinical director, the smaller unit will provide more personalized care and enhance the infant-parent bond. As with the current Level III CHOC NICU, community physicians will be notifified of transfer and receive copies of discharge summaries.
“CHOC and St. Joseph are both family-centered organizations with a long history of excellence,” Glenn said. “We’ve entered into this joint venture because the missions of our organizations are so closely aligned that it seemed like a natural extension of what we both do.”
