TUPELO—Earlier this summer, North Mississippi Medical Center (NMMC) unveiled a brand new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Women's Hospital.

 

The new family-friendly NICU, a second story addition to the Women's Hospital, was open to the public on June 20. As an added bonus, NICU "graduates" and their families were invited for a special preview earlier in the day and an opportunity for the little ones to leave a handprint tile for the Little Miracles Wall.

 

"We're really excited about the opportunity to better serve our neonatal patients and their families in a more patient/parent-focused environment," said John Heer, CEO of North Mississippi Health Services, about delivering "the next generation in neonatal care."

 

The new NICU is designed for 34 newborns, with the option to accommodate up to 50. Of those, the facility can handle up to 22 premature or critically ill newborns that face extensive complications. The facility's Intermediate Care Nursery (ICN) accommodates up to a dozen less fragile newborns. The NICU also features two four-bed wards to house babies who need to be isolated, or multiple births, such as triplets or quadruplets.

 

The former NICU and ICN accommodated only 22 newborns, and averaged 19 to 20. The limited housing has been problematic many times over the last several years, when the facility has been full to capacity and unable to accept admissions from other hospitals, mainly Oktibbeha County Hospital in Starkville or Magnolia Regional Health Center in Corinth, said Ellen Friloux, administrator for NMMC women and children's services.

 

"When we have to turn those babies down, they have to go to Memphis, Birmingham or Jackson so the family has to travel a lot farther," Friloux pointed out. "We'd like to keep those babies closer to home."

 

Friloux is pleased the new NICU allows parents more private time to bond with their baby and be more involved in the care of their newborn.

 

"It also incorporates state-of-the-art developmental enhancements important to the premature infant," she said.

 

The former NICU and ICN were located in several adjoining rooms; the new  facilities share a much more intimate and family-friendly environment. The flexible design space allows more NICU incubators to be brought in when the demand for them is greater than in the ICN, and vice versa, Friloux explained.

 

Unlike the former facility, parents may stay overnight in their baby's room. Families also have access to a nearby kitchenette, television lounge and shower. The family area also offers computers with Internet access and other resources for parents.

 

"A discharge preparation room is now available for parents who need special instructions before taking their NICU 'graduate' home," said Friloux. "They can spend one to three nights in this home-like environment to make sure they are comfortable taking care of their baby virtually on their own, while staff members are nearby to help when needed."

 

Patient-centered care is not just a media-friendly industry buzz word, "we embrace (the) philosophy at Women's Hospital," she added.

 

NMMC's board-certified neonatologists treat patients from northeast Mississippi, whether they include babies born at Women's Hospital or transferred by mobile intensive care unit or helicopter to Tupelo from hospitals in outlying communities. A specially trained nurse is assigned to each semi-private room, which accommodates two newborns. The nurse's workstation between the two beds is behind a glass wall, giving the nurse a full view of each room while at the same time ensuring a calming environment for the babies.

 

Two new outdoor gathering spaces, The Courtyard and The Garden, provide families and staff with verdant outdoor space and walking paths. The Garden features a patio with dining tables for Café Express. A new 50-seat classroom, which hosts educational programs for staff and the public, is accessible from the Women's Hospital front lobby.

 

NMMC's new NICU is the last piece of a $24.5 million multi-phase, five-year project that included an expansion of the labor and delivery unit in 2004 and a surgical ward expansion in 2006. Completion of the new space will allow some departments, like medical records and education, which have been located in temporary housing units during the construction phase, to relocate inside the hospital.