Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

The Ahmanson Pediatric Center's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Cedars-Sinai is a newly constructed, state-of-the-art facility designed to address the needs of critically ill babies, premature newborns or infants requiring close observation.

The NICU is a Level III (tertiary) provider of newborn services, which means that it has access to consultants, surgeons and ancillary services that allow treatment across the full range of neonatal problems. It comprises 45 beds in four areas, providing varying levels of care, including:

• Intensive
• Intermediate
• Isolation
• Continuing care

Cedars-Sinai's NICU is a designated California Children's Services Regional NICU, and all Cedars-Sinai neonatologists are board-certified, paneled California Children's Services providers. The NICU is equipped with the latest technology and prepared with the most modern treatment modalities to provide the highest level of care.

Comprehensive Services

As part of world-renowned Cedars-Sinai's complete pediatric healthcare services, the NICU ensures that patients receive the most accurate testing procedures available, superior medical therapies and the opportunity to participate in the latest clinical trials, as well as access to other innovative Cedars-Sinai services, including:

• Hemodynamic monitoring (i.e., blood circulation)
• Imaging technology (e.g., digital readers)
• Isolation rooms
• Omnibeds
• Self-contained blood gas laboratory

The NICU maintains active interaction with the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. In addition to conventional aspects of newborn intensive care, the following capabilities are available:

• Bedside pulmonary function testing
• Cardiothoracic surgery
• High frequency oscillatory ventilation
• Infant progress clinic
• Inhaled nitric oxide
• Parent liaison services/family-centered care in a compassionate, developmental environment
• 24-hour, in-house coverage by board-certified neonatologists

Learning Tree - Continuing Education in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

The Learning Tree Endowment of Cedars-Sinai, to support the academic enrichment of the NICU staff, established by Lori and David Rousso, loving grandparents of Jack and Sam Rosenfeld, is an educational fund that fosters continuing education for physicians, nurses, and all medical staff working in the NICU.

It is critical that our clinicians learn about the latest technologies and research insights related to neonatal intensive care. With vital philanthropic support, the Learning Tree Endowment fund will ensure that our medical professionals have the educational tools they need to provide outstanding care to our tiniest newborns.

Please help champion continuing education in the neonatal intensive care unit by making a contribution to the Learning Tree Endowment fund.

Good Beginnings

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Good Beginnings organization is the support group for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Good Beginnings' purpose is to promote and advance the care of newborn infants at Cedars-Sinai.

The organization offers an array of outreach services and programs to benefit both families and NICU staff free of charge. Some of our programs and initiatives include facilitating a variety of weekly forums for parent-to-parent support where former NICU parents can guide and help other families through their NICU journey, hosting infant-care education opportunities for families being discharged with special needs infants, providing extensive bereavement support to families experiencing a loss, offering continued education to the NICU staff, as well as funding neonatal medical research. To learn more, visit the Good Beginnings website.

Neonatal Transport Program

The NICU's newly formed Neonatal Transport Program moves neonates requiring tertiary care, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from the referring facility to Cedars-Sinai's NICU. When appropriate, the program also provides return transport to the referring facility. The program is committed to providing team mobilization within 30 minutes or less, with a policy for triaging patients in the event of multiple, simultaneous referrals.

In addition, the Neonatal Transport Program offers these services:

• A transport team comprised of a neonatologist, an NICU registered nurse and a respiratory therapist accompanies the newborn on critical and air transports. On noncritical transports, a team comprised of a neonatal nurse practitioner, an NICU registered nurse and an NICU respiratory therapist accompanies the neonate.
• Ambulance or helicopter transportation, based on the patient's need, distance and the referring facility's ability to manage the newborn until the transport team arrives.
• A medical director and a transport coordinator who ensure clinical practice compliance and oversee the daily operations of the program.
• Two infant transport incubators with a self-contained power supply to maintain neutral thermal environment, temperature and cardiopulmonary monitoring, neonatal ventilator, oxygen and compressed air, suction devices and infusion pumps. Other supplies and medications are readily available in transport bags.
  

Multidisciplinary Team

The NICU employs a highly integrated team of specialists, providing comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic services, from minimally invasive procedures to complex surgical techniques. Team members include:

• Board-certified neonatologists
• Nurse practitioners
• Registered nurses
• Respiratory therapists
  

Physician Referral

The NICU's experience team works with the referring physician to determine the best course of treatment for each newborn and keeps the referring physician apprised of the infant's condition. At the appropriate time, the infant is referred back to the primary care physician for continued management, but the NICU's neonatologists remain available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for post-treatment support.

Graduate Medical Education

To learn about the neonatal-perinatal fellowship program offered through the Department of Pediatrics, click on the link below.

• Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Program Description
  

Contact Us

For more information about the NICU or the Neonatal Transport Program, please contact: