Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
Mercy San Juan Medical Center's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is equipped with the latest technology and specially-trained staff to care for babies who are seriously ill or born prematurely.
Mercy San Juan's NICU has long been a world leader in caring for the smallest of newborns. The most recent data from the Vermont Oxford Network shines an even brighter light on the healthcare professionals who make up the Level III NICU - including neonatologists (doctors specializing in premature and high-risk babies), registered nurses, respiratory therapists, developmental specialists, lactation consultants, dietitians and pharmacists.
Of the 485 participating NICUs from the United States and abroad that submit information to Vermont Oxford, Mercy San Juan is among the top 3 percent for survival without morbidity (illness) for babies weighing between one and three pounds. What makes this even more impressive is that this data covers a three-year period (2003 to 2005). The NICU also excelled in other areas, scoring in the top 5 percent for separate categories that examined survival rates, lung development and infection rates.
Mercy San Juan's NICU includes 26 licensed beds and is equipped to provide specialized care including invasive monitoring, conventional ventilation, surgery, transport service, inhaled nitric oxide and high frequency oscillator ventilation. It is located on the third floor of the Family Birth Center, adjacent to the 32-bed labor, birth, recovery and maternal/infant unit, high-risk pre-birth and post-birth unit, two operating suites, visitors' waiting room and appropriate support areas.
The NICU provides family-centered care, encouraging the family to learn every aspect of their newborn's stay at Mercy San Juan.
