East Stroudsburg, PA – Pocono Medical Center’s (PMC) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) has been awarded the Level III designation. This designation means that the unit cares for the most critically ill and fragile newborns.
“We are very pleased to provide the Pocono region with this higher level of care,” said Delfor J. Salazar, MD, Medical Director of the NICU. “PMC’s NICU has been elevated to Level III, which gives us the ability to care for premature infants born as early as 28 weeks.” Designed with baby and family comfort and staff convenience in mind, PMC unveiled its Level II NICU in August 2010. Since that time, over 153 babies were admitted with multiple neonatal complications. The NICU is literally steps away from the Labor and Delivery Unit, which allows new mothers and their newborns to be near each other at any time. It is equipped with the latest technologies for highly specialized and advanced care for newborns and infants with serious medical conditions.
The NICU Medical Team embraces a developmentally appropriate philosophy of patient care in a family centered environment. The team is on staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide loving, experienced care and treatment. The team includes: Neonatologists, one Neonatal nurse practitioner, Neonatal nurses, and other ancillary departments including pharmacy, respiratory, radiology, and laboratory services, among others to deliver quality, evidence-based care. The team works closely with the physicians and providers of PMC Physician Associates: OB-GYN and Steven Jay Feinstein, MD, Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist who helps provide consultative high-risk pregnancy care.
The NICU participates in the National Perinatal Database to benchmark outcomes and continuously evaluate and improve the care provided. The NICU also has a relationship with St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, PA. The NICU was made possible through the support of many generous supporters including PNC Bank’s Northeast, PMC Auxiliary, and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Inc.
