Neonatal Intensive Care
The Division of Neonatology is a Level IV Regional Perinatal Center which
provides highly specialized treatment to nearly 750 premature and critically
ill newborns each year and receives referrals from more than 15 hospitals
in New Jersey and surrounding states.
The neonatal team consists of 12 board-certified neonatologists, specially trained nurse practitioners and neonatal nurses, therapists, social workers and technologists who work together under the principles of family-centered care.
Neonatologists are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide care for these fragile newborns, meet with families and for consultations.
The NICU provides specialized care for newborns and offers New Jersey’s Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) therapy for infants in severe respiratory distress. As a modification of cardiopulmonary bypass, ECMO aids newborns who have not responded to usual therapies such as mechanical ventilation, drugs and surgery.
The NICU services include:
- Regional Sudden Infant Death Syndrome/Apnea Program
- Jet and Oscillator Ventilation
- Nitric Oxide Treatments
- Neonatal Transport Team
- Comprehensive Parent Teaching Program
- Pediatric Genetic Testing
Our survival rates exceed those of national benchmarks. While our number of Low Birth Weight babies ranks amongst the highest percentiles nationally, our survivals are among the top quartile.
Vermont Oxford Network
Newark Beth Israel Medical Center’s Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Regional Perinatal Center became an active member of the prestigious Vermont Oxford Network (VON) in 2004. Our outcomes in the VON international database for benchmarking are equal to and most exceed national averages.
Each month, VON-member hospitals report their mortality and morbidity data for each patient to the central office. In return, the office sends to each individual hospital a detailed quarterly report comparing the performance of each individual hospital. As a result, member hospitals have a benchmark of data to compare and each NICU strives to be the best performer among the network hospitals.
Rapid Genetic Testing for Critically Ill Infants
Whole genome sequencing (or sequencing of all the genetic material of a person) can identify the root cause of rare genetic disorders and diseases in some of the sickest infants by a simple blood test.
Through a collaboration between Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine (RCIGM), we offer rapid Whole Genome Sequencing (rWGS) to help diagnose unexplained medical conditions in newborns and infants who need immediate intervention.
In most medically urgent cases, RCIGM delivers preliminary diagnoses in as little as 3 business days compared to standard testing that can take 4 to 6 weeks or more. Doctors can then provide a precise diagnosis and administer targeted, sometimes lifesaving care at a time when the therapeutic window is often very small.
Learn more about pediatric genetic testing.
Neonatal Transport Program
The Neonatal Transport Program safely transports critically-ill newborns to our center and back transports many to the originating Level II’s for recuperation.
CHNJ continues to have one of the highest “back-transport” rates in the state. The transport team consists of a neonatologist and a registered neonatal nurse with special training in transport. An EMT is also part of the team.
To attain the best outcomes for our babies, the High Risk Infant Follow-up (HRIF) team of experts monitors and evaluates the growth and development of infants at risk. The team consists of:
- Neonatologists
- A neurodevelopmentalist
- A developmental psychologist
- Physical and occupational therapists
- A neonatal nurse
- A social worker
- An ophthalmologist
This same team follows the infant after discharge from the NICU.
To ensure early identification of developmental delays and timely referrals to specialists, infants are seen at one, four, eight, 12 and 24 months. Babies treated with ECMO are followed to five years of age.