Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center Meets Milestone; Level II NICU Coming Soon

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Dec. 30, 2014 - PRLog -- All babies are special bundles of joy, but to Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center, baby Lydia Blair Baker will always be remembered as an extra special baby. With her birth on November 23 at 4:46 p.m., she helped future babies in the community.

Baby Lydia was the 1,500th infant born at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in a rolling year – from December 2013 through November 2014. By meeting this momentous milestone, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center was able to apply and receive a Certificate of Need (CON) exemption from the Agency for Health Care Administration (ACHA) for a Level II neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) designation.

A Level II NICU is equipped with incubators, ventilators, and specialized monitoring equipment and cares for sick and premature newborn infants born at 32-weeks gestational age or greater who need medical care related to various medical conditions. This includes caring for babies who can't stay warm on their own and need to be placed in an incubator or aren't strong enough to eat well and need assistance feeding. In addition, a Level II NICU can care for infants with mild health problems related to prematurity, such as jaundice or apnea of prematurity.

“The birth of a child is one of the greatest miracles of life. A new addition to the family is a time of celebration, joy and love, as the newborn is welcomed into the world. Unfortunately, there are times when things may not go as planned and the baby may arrive premature or sick, requiring intensive nursing and medical care,” said Becky Vernon, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center director of women and children’s services. “In 2013, approximately 8 percent of Volusia and Flagler babies were born underweight. In addition, we’ve seen a sad and steady increase in the number of babies born with an addiction to various drugs and prescriptions. These babies need specialized medical treatment, so there’s a real need in our community for the Level II NICU to provide care to our smallest patients.”

Level II NICUs are required to have neonatologists and neonatal nurse practitioners, in addition to Level I health care providers. Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center has had these skilled clinicians on-hand since 2009 and will be adding a third neonatologist in early 2015.

“We have been licensed as a Level I Neonatal Nursery, but have been planning for a Level II NICU for quite some time now. For years, we have had the advanced technology, the specialized equipment and the skilled, expert medical staff needed to provide Level II NICU care, we just didn’t have the designation from the state,” said Vernon. “With this designation, at-risk mothers in the community will now have a choice in deciding where they would like to deliver their baby. Additionally, babies born at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center that were not initially predicted to be at risk can continue their care at our hospital, instead of being transferred out of the community.”

In preparation for the Level II NICU, the hospital will spend $10 million in construction and equipment. This construction will expand the hospital’s square footage by 16,332 feet by building on top of the hospital’s third floor and connecting to the BirthCare Center’s current unit on the fourth floor. This will add a 16-bed private room NICU in addition to the BirthCare Center’s current 10 Level 1 nursery beds. All rooms will be equipped with state of the art incubators, radiant warmers, cardiac monitors and ventilators.

The Level II NICU is expected to open by late 2016.

About Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center
Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center is a member of Adventist Health System, a faith-based health care organization with 45 hospital campuses and nearly 8,300 licensed beds in 10 states. With more than 1,800 employees and employed physicians, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center is a nonprofit health-care organization committed to hope, health and healing. A recipient of the 2012 Florida Governor’s Sterling Award for performance excellence, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center is a national leader in patient experience. Our locations include Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center and Florida Hospital Cancer Institute in Daytona Beach, Florida Hospital Oceanside in Ormond Beach, an outpatient facility in Port Orange, and an imaging center in Ormond Beach. Additionally, Florida Hospital Oceanside is home to the area’s only inpatient rehabilitation facility with CARF accreditation for stroke care. For more information, call (386) 231-6000 or visit https://www.floridahospital.com/memorial-medical-center.

Photo Caption:
On November 23 at 4:46 p.m., baby Lydia Blair Baker was the 1,500th infant born at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in a rolling year. With her birth, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center was able to apply and receive a Certificate of Need (CON) exemption from Agency for Health Care Administration (ACHA) for a Level II neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) designation. Here, baby Lydia is held by her mother Amanda Baker and father Gene Baker of Ormond Beach. Lydia was born at seven pounds, four ounces and was 17.9 inches long.