CHOP Newborn Care at Virtua
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia neonatologists collaborate with Virtua providers to care for babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Virtua Voorhees Hospital, and the Special Care Nursery (SCN) at Virtua Memorial Hospital.
Newborn Care at Virtua Voorhees
Virtua Voorhees Hospital has been designated by the State of New Jersey as a Regional Perinatal Center, providing the highest level of care for mothers and babies in South Jersey. Close to 5,600 babies are delivered each year at the Voorhees campus, of which 780 are admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Board-certified maternal-fetal medicine specialists provide comprehensive services on-site for women with high-risk pregnancies.
The NICU is staffed around the clock by members of CHOP's renowned team of board-certified neonatologists and neonatal nurse practitioners, trained neonatal nurses and respiratory therapists who provide state-of-the-art neonatal intensive care for low birth weight, premature and term sick newborns with a wide range of medical conditions. A team of dieticians and lactation consultants and a social worker, pharmacist, physical therapist and developmental specialist provide ancillary support to further enhance the care of these babies.
The 46-bed Level III NICU has private rooms, each equipped with the latest technology, a family seating area and large windows that provide natural lighting and expansive views of nature. Treatment modalities and procedures available at Voorhees include: conventional ventilation, high frequency ventilation, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), high flow nasal cannula, inhaled nitric oxide therapy, PICC lines, exchange transfusions and bedside PDA ligations.
A high-risk infant follow-up team sees babies at risk for growth and neurodevelopmental issues up to age 2, and coordinates care and intervention when necessary. Close to 550 babies are seen in the follow-up clinic each year.
Newborn Care at Virtua Memorial
The Special Care Nursery (SCN) at Virtua Memorial Hospital is a 12-bed Level II neonatal unit staffed by a CHOP neonatal team that provides intensive and intermediate care to roughly 350 babies each year.
Low birth weight, premature and term infants with complications such as respiratory distress, sepsis, jaundice, hypoglycemia, drug withdrawal, poor feeding, acyanotic heart disease and other birth defects are cared for by a team of board-certified neonatologists, neonatal nurse practitioners and trained nurses.
The SCN is equipped with state-of-the-art warmers, isolettes and electronic monitors. Babies who require short-term mechanical ventilation, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or oxygen therapy by nasal cannula are managed in the SCN under close supervision of the clinical team and dedicated respiratory therapists.
The SCN has a Ronald McDonald Family Room that provides families a soothing place for relaxation and refreshment. Visitation is 24 hours a day, and siblings 5 years and older are allowed to visit.