NICU
The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) provides critical care to newborns who are ill or premature. Many factors may lead to a newborn being admitted to the NICU, including low birth weight or complications during delivery. The NICU staff works closely with parents to develop a treatment plan for their newborn.
Neonatal intensive care unit in Wichita, Kansas
Neonatal emergencies can arise at any moment, whether an infant is premature or not and whether you experienced a routine or high-risk pregnancy.
The Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Wesley Women’s Hospital, located at Wesley Medical Center, provides specialized, critical care for infants. Newborns who have complications, due to premature birth, infections or other health challenges, are admitted to our Level III NICU in Wichita.
For more information
For more information about our NICU, please call.
For more information about our NICU, please call.
The mother-baby connection
Wesley understands and believes in the importance of a mother's love and care. Our mother-baby program makes it possible for moms and babies to connect and be together, even when newborns are in need of special attention in the NICU.
In fact, Wesley was the first hospital in Kansas to be designated a Baby-Friendly Hospital. The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative encourages skin-to-skin contact between mothers and newborns, which promotes bonding and improves the newborn’s ability to breastfeed.
Wesley’s NICVIEW bedside cameras transmit live visual images of the infant through a secure, online portal. The passcode-protected portal is designed to comply with HIPAA regulations and enables caregivers to view the infant via any device connected to the internet any time of the day.
Our Level III NICU care team
Wesley’s Level III NICU team is led by board-certified neonatologist Dr. Barry Bloom, MD. Infants in our NICU also receive care from other neonatal specialists, including neonatal nurses and neonatal respiratory therapists. If needed, we have pediatric subspecialists in heart care, neurological care and orthopedic care who will join the NICU team in caring for your baby’s health needs.
Neonatal transport team
In an effort to further our hospital’s mission of always putting our community’s health interests and expectations first, Wesley's LifeWATCH neonatal transport team works with the EagleMed ambulance service to bring babies from hundreds of miles away to Wesley via ground and air ambulances.
Wesley makes all of our hospital facilities prepared at all times to handle any emergency situation, including the transportation of our tiniest patients. The transport team added a new ambulance designed specifically for critical infants to its ground fleet in 2017 and now has three ambulances to transport.
Neonatal clinical research
Wesley's 30-year reputation for providing the most advanced neonatal care in the Wichita and northern Oklahoma area is due partly to our hospital's clinical research. Wesley's highly respected NICU serves as a lead institution in presenting evidence about new ways to prevent infections. In fact, our NICU's internal rate of infection is among the lowest third in the country.
Wesley’s neonatologist, Dr. Bloom, has worked across the country facilitating teams to develop healthy methods for increasing the rate of weight gain and improving breast milk feeding rates amongst infants in NICUs. Dr. Bloom’s work is having a positive effect on babies at Wesley, as well as at more than 100 NICUs across the U.S., and we are extremely pleased to have a neonatal doctor of his caliber be an integral part of our neonatal care program.
Additionally, Wesley participates in national quality improvement efforts related to chronic lung disease, pain management, effects of lighting, sound, parental involvement and other topics. As a collaborative research support site, Wesley has managed five multicenter surfactant trials, helping to reduce lung disease and injury and infants' reliance on oxygen and ventilators.
Neonatal Family Advisory Council
Wesley’s Neonatal Family Advisory Council (FAC) is made up of volunteers who have had babies in our NICU. The mission of the FAC is to encourage the values of family-centered care; to promote quality communication between families and staff; to provide a family-centered perspective to Wesley staff and administration; to educate and empower families about their children’s care.
The FAC’s volunteers all share a desire to help the Wesley’s Level III NICU become the warmest and receptive facility through a passion for helping NICU families. The council strongly supports parents’ involvement with NICU support groups.
Family life classes
Wesley’s neonatal care team works with our prenatal care program to educate expecting families about healthy lifestyle choices to minimize health concerns for newborn babies.
Most expectant parents do not feel completely prepared to have a baby. Whether you are just beginning to think about pregnancy or have already conceived, Wesley offers a variety of family life classes that focus on pregnancy and parenthood.
Videos about our NICU services
Rumford's NICU Story
Hear about the Rumford's triplets NICU story! The triplets were 12 weeks early and stayed in the Wesley NICU for 28 days.
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