About the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
West Penn Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is the second largest level III NICU in Pittsburgh, admitting over 600 infants annually. The NICU is a major regional referral center for critically ill infants and also provides prenatal consultations for high-risk obstetrics patients. Approximately 200 infants are transported to West Penn’s NICU from other regional hospitals each year.
The NICU is a 40-bed unit providing the highest level of medical care available to neonates. West Penn also has a stepdown unit with 16 additional beds. The distinctive design of West Penn’s NICU features six pods, each of which houses six infant isolettes. In addition, the unit contains an isolation pod with four isolettes to care for babies with infections. The pod design, complimented by indirect lighting, creates as much as possible an environment to promote the healing and growing process. Overall, the unit is designed to allow the most individualized approach to care and treatment possible.
The staff of the NICU includes highly trained and skilled registered nurses, neonatal nurse practitioners, physician assistants, neonatal respiratory therapists, and a physician staff of board-certified neonatologists. They provide in-house care for sick newborns 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition, specialists in pediatric cardiology, neurology, infections disease, endocrinology and orthopaedics are available for consultation and evaluation. The staff of the NICU prides itself on providing compassionate, family-centered care, as well as implementing state-of-the-art technology and treatment.
Family members, including both parents and siblings, are urged to visit the babies at any time during the day or night and participate in their care. Mothers are encouraged to breastfeed their babies when possible, and the staff advocates soothing skin-to-skin contact between premature babies and their parents to promote healing, growth and bonding. Furthermore, family members are encouraged to call the unit for updates on their baby’s condition as often as they wish – even if it is 3 a.m. and you can’t sleep! Please don’t hesitate to call.
High-risk obstetric patients who are referred to West Penn receive a prenatal consultation from a neonatologist in the NICU to discuss their infant’s prognosis and the care that will be provided in the NICU. The goal of the consultation is to orient prospective parents to the environment of the NICU and to prepare them as much as possible for the experience.
West Penn also offers a Neonatal Developmental Follow-up Program. In the program, a team consisting of an infant developmental specialist, a neonatologist, a physical therapist and a social worker assesses the development of NICU graduates and offers support to their families for up to two years.
Contacting the NICU
Parents may call the nursery at West Penn Hospital anytime, day or night. Even if it is 3 a.m. and you can’t sleep, don’t hesitate to call!
You may contact us with either of these phone numbers: 412-578-5306 or 800-405-5310
West Penn’s physicians and nurses will be happy to answer any questions you may have and update you about your baby’s progress. We know that your relatives and friends are concerned about your baby too, but for confidentiality reasons, information will be given to parents only. Please identify yourself as a parent when you call; you will be asked for the number on your band. Also, please provide us with your home, work and cell phone numbers so that we can contact you at any time. If your baby’s condition changes or a special procedure must be done, our doctors will contact you.
Insurance and Billing
Please be sure to inform your insurance company about your baby’s hospitalization. Also make sure you are familiar with the terms of your medical coverage and contact your insurance company if you have any questions about your baby’s coverage. During your baby’s hospital stay, you can expect to receive a hospital bill, a physician’s bill from the attending neonatologist, and bills from any specialists who have been consulted. If your baby was transported from an outlying hospital, you will also receive an ambulance or helicopter bill.
