Forsyth Medical Center 
2007 News Releases
Forsyth Medical Center Opens New State-of-the-Art Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
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October 29, 2007 Contact: Freda Springs, (336) 718-4079 |
Winston-Salem, N.C. - Forsyth Medical Center's smallest patients are getting a bigger home. On Tuesday morning, the Sara Lee Center for Women's Health's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) will expand into a larger, more private, 30,274-square-foot department in the new North Tower. The new NICU, which will be about three times larger than the current unit, will be the first department to move into the new wing of the hospital.
Robert Dillard, M.D., a neonatologist and medical director of the NICU, says the new 40-bed unit will offer parents and patients a quieter, more homelike environment with increased privacy and a more individualized model of care.
"Our current NICU basically consists of one large room with babies' incubators placed side by side," Dr. Dillard says. "The new NICU will be much more decentralized, with babies occupying private or semi-private rooms that are large enough to accommodate recliner chairs for their parents. In addition, instead of the traditional main nurses' station, we will have several smaller work areas for nurses, with everything nurses need to care for their patients located within close proximity to patients' rooms."
Tuesday's move is actually the first phase of a complete renovation of Forsyth Medical Center's NICU. The second phase will be the renovation of an additional 16-bed unit, which will be completed next year. When concluded, Forsyth Medical Center will be able to offer a fully renovated and redesigned 56-bed NICU for
Level II/III/IV NICU babies.
Other features of the new NICU include the following:
- Private and semi-private rooms individual rooms create a quieter, more private environment
- Family-centered model of care increased space gives parents an opportunity to spend more time with and be more involved in the care of their babies
- Increased security the new NICU includes a single access point that is monitored to ensure only NICU parents enter the secure area
- Dillard Park a seating area for parents of NICU patients to gather and visit with their babies in a less-clinical atmosphere
- Ronald McDonald House Family Room a respite area for parents of NICU children that will include Internet access, shower facilities, a laundry, play area for children and a kitchen stocked with easy-to-prepare foods
- Meditation room a place for reflection and solitude for NICU parents
- Parenting care rooms rooms that provide NICU parents an area in which they can learn to care for their babies before discharge
Media are invited to tour the new NICU and witness the relocation of babies into the new space beginning at 5 a.m. For more information, please contact Freda Springs at 336-718-4079 (office) or 336-287-4203 (media phone). Media parking will be provided at the main entrance to the hospital.
