Newborn intensive care unit in Clark County
At Sunrise Children's Hospital, a member of Sunrise Health System, our neonatal team is amazing together: providing the highest levels of care for our smallest patients.
At our 72-bed, Level III, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), we provide medical or surgical intervention for premature newborns and critically ill infants. Each year, our neonatal services team cares for hundreds of babies.
For more information on our NICU services or to speak to a specialist, call us at (702)-961-6750.
Reasons a newborn needs a NICU unit
Our neonatal unit is truly amazing together. Our team includes board-certified doctors (neonatologists), specialty-trained intensive-care nurses and nurse practitioners, respiratory practitioners, social workers, lactation specialists and medical support staff. Our unit works together as a highly focused team, dedicated to taking care of our youngest patients and their families.
“Neonatal” typically refers to the first 28 days of an infant’s life. Some newborns may need advanced care to develop and grow strong in order to go home with their families. We offer treatment that may involve 24/7 monitoring of vital signs or provide devices that support adequate breathing, blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
Premature newborns babies born at 37 weeks gestation or younger, may need support until vital systems fully develop. The length of a NICU visit depends on the infant's condition. NICU care is needed when a baby has a low birth weight, typically less than five pounds in weight.
NICU hospital has amenities for patients' families
We know you and your families are an important part of an infant's care. To help you manage while caring for your baby, we offer several resources and amenities.
Our Ronald McDonald Family Room™ at Sunrise Children’s is a welcome retreat. Our Family room features accommodations and resources available to families with a baby in our NICU. In addition, families are provided additional support through child safety, CPR and sibling courses.
NICU treatments and services we offer
Babies visit our NICU for a variety of reasons. Some babies need special treatments due to their small size. Our NICU team uses specialty incubators, beds designed to safely monitor babies in a safe and stable setting that high-risk infants need.
To ensure safe medication administration, Sunrise Children's uses the most advanced pharmacy safety protocols and has a team of trained pediatric pharmacists. Our NICU specialists include experts who place specialized IV lines and respond to high-risk labor and deliveries. All of these measures ensure the highest levels of care for the most vulnerable of infants.
Our NICU care is state-of-the-art offering nitric oxide, high-frequency ventilation and the latest methods for cardiac surgery, neurosurgical procedures and GI conditions.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)
Our unit is the only NICU in Nevada that provides ECMO for newborns less than four weeks old. ECMO is a potentially life-saving technique that mimics the natural function of the heart and lungs, allowing an infant to rest while natural healing of the affected organs takes place. It is used for newborns suffering respiratory and/or cardiac failure as a result of birth defects, trauma or severe infection. Our pediatric ICU also offers ECMO for children.
Critical care transport team
The NICU is well-supported by a vast team of professionals. When an infant needs to be transported to Sunrise Children's for care, our critical care support team is available at a moment's notice. Our service specializes in transporting critical patients, ranging from premature infants to young adults, via ambulance, helicopter or airplane to receive a higher level of care.
Neonatal sibling visitation
Our child life experts facilitate initial visits for children between 5-12 years old with siblings in the NICU. The visit prepares siblings for what they will see and what they should do. Children learn about the equipment they might see, handwashing and how to properly put on a mask and gown.
To schedule NICU visits please call the child life office at (702) 961-7782 at least 48 hours prior to the desired visit time. Parents must bring a copy of their children's communication records, a requirement for entering the NICU.
Social work services
Sunrise Children's Hospital offers dedicated pediatric and neonatal social workers providing skilled, compassionate services throughout the hospital. Family-centered services offered to children and their families include assessments with referrals to appropriate resources, crisis intervention and support, assistance with applicable financial programs and bereavement support.
Advanced neonatal services
To provide complete care for your child, we involve resources from many specialties in our hospital including neurology and cardiology.
Neonatal neuro protective program
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a medical term for brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen and blood flow to the brain. The damage occurs most frequently during or just before birth. It is a life-threatening condition that can cause serious or permanent brain damage to infants.
Currently, the only treatment available that may improve the long-term outcomes for HIE infants is therapeutic hypothermia. Sunrise Children's Hospital offers therapeutic hypothermia, also known as body cooling, which lowers a patient's body temperature to 33.5 degrees Celsius for approximately 72 hours.
The treatment must be administered within six hours of birth. If the procedure is deemed necessary for your child, our neonatologists work with your obstetrician to start treatment. Our neonatology team also works with area obstetricians to expedite and ensure infants meet treatment criteria. Once qualified, our CCT service arranges quick and efficient transport to our facility.
To speak with a specialist about our neonatal neuro protective program, call us at (800) KID-SICK (543-7425).
Pediatric cardiology program
What makes us amazing together? Our pediatric cardiology specialists along with our advanced technologies and treatments, make us amazing together.
We work together to provide treatment that is a broad, family-centered approach for your child. Kids come in all shapes and sizes. That's why we offer "right-sized" heart care for your child featuring the equipment, resources and specialists to meet your child's specific needs.
So, whether your newborn needs surgery minutes after delivery or your teenager is coming in for a follow-up procedure, your child's care is at the heart of everything we do.
To request a second opinion or to speak with a cardiologist, call us at (702) 961-5021.
