Woman’s Hospital is whale-y excited to announce the opening of its whale pod in the
Newborn and Infant Intensive Care Unit (NICU)! Designed with an “under the sea” theme, Woman’s NICU is divided into pods to help parents easily navigate the large space. The new whale pod joins the starfish, fish, turtle, seahorse and dolphin pods.
Since construction nearly five years ago, Woman’s NICU has experienced a continual and significant increase in volume and the duration of stay, leading to a repeated relocation of lower acuity infants from single-family rooms into a traditional group setting. In 2016 alone, Woman’s NICU admitted 1,249 infants and transported 90 infants. The infants totaled more than 22,000 days in the NICU with an average length of stay of two weeks.
The $6.5 million expansion includes 11 new rooms – including a room for twins – all of which are single-family and designed to feel like a baby’s nursery, where parents can bond with their baby just like they would at home. This setting allows parents to stay overnight with their baby in the days, weeks and even months ahead. The expansion also includes a versatile room with a sliding wall to transform the twin room into a triplet room.
More photos of Valentines NICU babies on Facebook >>