The expansion of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center was completed late last year, increasing the number of beds available to avoid transferring ill and premature newborns to other hospitals.
Hospital staff gave a short tour of the NICU on Jan. 26 after Congressman Tony Cárdenas arrived to formally present a ceremonial check of $750,000 – although the money had been previously utilized to aid in its expansion.
The funds helped the medical center to increase the size of the NICU and the number of Giraffe Omnibeds – state-of-the-art equipment that provides a controlled, stress-reduced environment for infants.
Bernard Klein, executive officer at Providence Holy Cross, said that when the NICU first opened in 2012, it was found to be full almost immediately. On average, the hospital had to transfer four to five babies a month out of the NICU because of the lack of capacity. This challenge was an issue for years.
“That means you have a mom here, recovering from the delivery, and the baby is someplace else, which is just heartbreaking,” Klein said. “With this funding … we were able to expand our NICU from 12 to 18 beds. Not only will we be able to manage the volume and meet the needs of the community, we’re going to be able to offer a new service – therapeutic hypothermia – which means even fewer babies will have to leave the community for care.”
Therapeutic hypothermia is a type of treatment sometimes used for people who have a heart attack to lower their body temperature to reduce brain damage. The treatment can also be used on infants who experienced a lack of oxygen in their bodies due to traumatic deliveries in the hopes of reversing potential neurodevelopmental disabilities.
In addition to more Giraffe Omnibeds, the funds helped pay for new equipment, including cameras so families can see their baby even when they’re not there, and helped in the creation of the unit’s second negative pressure room – an isolation-type room designed to prevent airborne microorganisms in the room from entering hallways and corridors, including COVID-19, measles, tuberculosis and SARS.
The expanded NICU opened in November of 2023. Providence Holy Cross had spent a year and a half on construction, but another three to four years on fundraising. However, there was a gap of $750,000 in the construction budget that the medical center needed to finish. They went to Cárdenas for assistance, who had secured more than $26 million in community project funding from Congress in 2022.
The funds have been going towards Northeast Valley projects that support job creation, youth programs, community empowerment, mental health care and more. This includes $2.5 million for the construction of 3,000 bus shelters throughout Los Angeles, $1 million for New Directions for Youth to increase mental health services and $800,000 for the city of San Fernando to hire mental health clinicians and to support 988 cases – the phone number for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
“Having your baby in the NICU is already a very difficult experience,” Cárdenas said. “Ensuring that parents can be near their babies while they are in the NICU is an important step towards making a NICU stay less stressful for everyone involved.”
“I think the most important thing for people to know is that the newly expanded NICU is open and now available, and you combine that with the incredible quality and compassion that this hospital provides, it’s an incredible resource,” Klein said. “We’re here to serve.”
