NICU

At Methodist Children's Hospital, our Level IV NICU and specialists in pediatric care treat children who have the most complex medical conditions using various tools and expertise, including:

• Bedside surgical procedures
• Conventional and non-conventional mechanical ventilator, including high-frequency oscillatory ventilation and an inhaled nitric oxide program
• Full complement of subspecialty physician services for infants with rare congenital (present at birth) conditions
• Life support
• Respiratory therapy and nutritional management
• Specialized nursing team for cardiac patients, total body cooling patients and patients with a central line
• Safe Sleep Certified
• Technologically advanced radiology

Our neonatal and pediatric transport team provides state-of-the-art critical care transport services under the direct supervision of the pediatric intensivists and neonatologists at Methodist Children's Hospital. All of our transport team members are experienced critical care providers, trained in flight physiology and advanced pediatric life support skills.

Once an infant has graduated and no longer needs the level of care provided by the Methodist Children Hospital NICU, we offer a transfer service back to the intermediate care of the originating hospital until his or her discharge home.

The purpose of this service is to provide a safe transfer to a specialized nursery that can meet the infant’s needs closer to the family’s home. When the infant is ready, our neonatologist will collaborate with the patient’s pediatrician to ensure a safe transfer back to the originating hospital.

Our maternal transport team consists of two highly skilled and obstetrics-trained registered nurses and a paramedic. Our flight crew and ground paramedics are also qualified to provide medical consultation and oversee care by phone and/or radio from the time you leave the referring facility until the time you arrive at Methodist Children's Hospital.

In addition, a team of maternal-fetal medicine specialists are available for:

• Amniocentesis
• Caring for perinatal problems with the team of neonatologists and pediatric surgeons at Methodist Children’s Hospital
• Coordination of maternal-fetal care for congenital anomalies
• Fetal therapeutics, including percutaneous umbilical blood sampling
• High-resolution ultrasound
• Intrauterine transfusions
• Maternal-fetal medicine consultation

Though each baby needs to be evaluated on an individual basis, general guidelines can be given to those who are likely to require maternal-fetal or neonatal intensive care. If this level of care is anticipated, referral to a regional center may be desirable for several reasons:

• High-risk pregnancies with certain conditions may require intensive care with highly specialized monitoring and evaluation capability for extended periods
• Intrauterine transport is less stressful for a baby than neonatal transport.
• Maternal-fetal transport allows mother and baby to be close to each other soon after delivery.
• Regional centers provide highly sophisticated medical equipment and resources for patients who require a higher level of care.

Maternal-fetal transport should be decided jointly by the patients’ referring physician and the receiving regional center specialist.