Medical Director: Kirti Upadhyay, MD; Associate Medical Director: Sarah Kolnik, MD
This 50-bed unit includes 42 single-bed rooms with space for a family member to stay near their infant, several additional rooms for multiples, and an integrated OR for surgical procedures. Over 95% of admissions are inborn from the UWMC High-Risk Perinatal Program, one of the highest risk obstetric services in the nation, and has special expertise in managing the most fragile growth-restricted and premature fetuses and newborns. Patient care is managed in a multidisciplinary fashion by highly trained nurses, respiratory therapists, neonatal dieticians, a neonatal pharmacist, physical therapists, speech language pathologists, social worker, neonatal advanced practice providers, pediatric residents, neonatal fellows, and neonatal faculty attendings. Delivery room resuscitation duties are shared by the NICU and newborn nursery medical teams. The attending neonatologist and neonatal fellows direct daily patient care rounds. Neonatal fellows have ample opportunity to perfect and teach resuscitation skills, and work closely with obstetricians and maternal fetal medicine specialists. Fellows also provide prenatal consultations to families expecting very preterm delivery or infants with complex fetal conditions.
UW Medicine Team Improving the Odds for Extremely Preterm Babies