Special Care Nursery
From monitoring vital signs to offering breathing assistance, the multidisciplinary team of experts at the Level II Harold and Margret Thomas Special Care Nursery are here for you. Using state-of-the-art technology and compassionate, integrated care, we will tend to your baby as we would care for our own.
Our Comprehensive Care Philosophy
Our goal is to provide family-centered, safe, and developmentally appropriate care in a supportive environment for your baby, you and your family.
We encourage you and your family to be involved in your baby’s care every step of the way, which means you are always welcome. We also invite you to participate in our morning rounds, during which, our multidisciplinary team discusses your baby’s plan of care. This ensures that you remain an essential part of your baby's health care team.
Our Services
At the Level II Harold and Margret Thomas Care Nursery, you can rest assured that your baby is receiving the most advanced, evidence-based medical and nursing care available. This is just a small sample of the special medical conditions we treat the in SCN:
- Anemia
- Apnea and bradycardia
- Breathing problems
- Infection
- Prematurity
We also attend to the special needs of babies in the SNC, including:
- Blood tests
- Temperature control
- Vital sign monitoring
- Breathing assistance
- Phototherapy (for jaundice)
- Nutrition
Safe Sleep Practices and Kangaroo Care
We also teach parents safe sleeping practices, as well as kangaroo care, a special nurturing technique that allows babies to receive the human, skin-to-skin contact they desperately need during this fragile time. Benefits include:
- Regulated breathing patterns and stable heart rate
- Improved oxygen levels
- Calmer and deeper sleep
- More rapid weight gain
- Earlier discharges
- Thermal synchronization (When the baby’s temperature decreases slightly, mom’s body temperature automatically increases to warm the baby.)
Kangarooing Technique
Before kangarooing can begin, your baby’s medical stability will be determined by the bedside nurse and medical team. You or your designated support person must be available for at least 30 minutes and up to several hours to kangaroo. Wearing only a diaper, your baby will be placed on your bare chest, with the baby’s head turned with an ear against your heart. Your shirt or blanket will keep the baby warm and prevent your chest from being exposed.
A nurse will help to carefully settle your baby on your chest. Baby will remain hooked to his or her monitors and equipment. The length of time and the frequency of kangarooing will depend on how long your baby likes it. Your nurse will stop by periodically to assess progress and answer questions.
Our Team
A variety of pediatric specialists may be called upon to diagnose or treat some medical conditions of babies in the Special Care Nursery. The following are some of the care providers and consultants who may be involved in your baby’s care while he or she is in the hospital.
- Attending neonatologist – a pediatrician who has additional training in caring for sick and preterm babies
- Assistant nurse/manager – a neonatal nurse who coordinates the day-to-day activities in the Special Care Nursery
- Audiologist – a health care professional who specializes in hearing disorders
- Cardiologists – a pediatrician who has additional training for babies and children with heart-related problems.
- Certified nurse practitioner – a registered nurse who has received additional formal education in neonatal care
- Chaplain – a religious professional specially trained to provide spiritual support, comfort, and counseling
- Developmental specialist – a registered nurse who specializes in growth, development and behavior of babies
- Geneticist – a doctor who evaluates babies with birth defects and congenital problems
- Lactation consultant – a health care professional who is specially trained to observe, assist and advise breastfeeding mothers
- ANM/Manager – a neonatal nurse who coordinated the 24-hour nursing operations of the Special Care Nursery
- Neonatal Nurse – a registered nurse who is specially trained to provide care for the sick or preterm babies
- Neonatology fellow – a pediatrician who is receiving additional training in caring for sick and preterm babies and assists the neonatologist in providing and coordinating your baby’s medical care
- Neurologist – a doctor who evaluates and treats problems of the nervous system
- Nurse assistant – a neonatal nurse who coordinates your orientation/introduction to the Special Care Nursery
- Nutritionist – a registered dietician who assists the neonatologist in the management of the nutritional needs of premature babies
- Occupational therapist – a health care professional who is trained to work with Special Care Nursery babies in the areas of alertness, positioning and feeding abilities
- Ophthalmologist – a doctor who examines a baby’s eyes for problems that may affect vision
- Parent network – a group of parent liaisons who are available to offer your family compassion, support, and information while your baby is in the Special Care Nursery
- Patient care assistant – a specially trained technician who helps provide care to Special Care Nursery babies under the direct supervision of the nurses
- Pediatrician – a doctor who specializes in the care of babies and children
- Physical therapist – a health care professional who is trained to work with Special Care Nursery babies in the areas of muscle tone, movement patterns head shape, and range of motion
- Resident – a doctor who has finished medical school, is training to become a pediatrician or other specialist, and is receiving educational experience in the Special Care Nursery
- Radiologist – a doctor who reads X-rays, ultrasounds, CAT scans and MRIs
- Respiratory care practitioner – a health care professional who is specially trained and licensed to provide a full range of respiratory care, including oxygen, breathing treatments and ventilator support
- Social worker – a professional specially trained to support people dealing with stressful or difficult times in their lives
- Unit coordinator – a receptionist who coordinates communication between you and your baby’s nurse
- Unit educator – a registered nurse who provides educational support to Special Care Nursery staff
In addition, our team provides follow-up services after your baby is discharged to ensure that he or she is developing well.
- High-risk follow up/pediatric developmental assessment and treatment team – consists of an occupational therapist, a physical therapist, an audiologist, a speech therapist, a social worker and a developmental pediatrician or neonatologist. The developmental progress of a baby referred to this team is evaluated four to six months after the mother’s due date.
- Home health nurse – a registered nurse who will make home follow-up visits after your baby is discharged to assist you and your family in transitioning your baby into the home environment
- Neonatology follow-up clinic – consultant services for Special Care Nursery graduates who go home on oxygen, weigh less than 1700 grams (about 4 pounds), or who are referred by their private pediatrician or the attending neonatologist