Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU)

Specialized care for you and your newborn

Our children’s hospitals are equipped with a Level III Regional Perinatal Center. We provide the highest level of care for high-risk mothers and acutely ill newborns using the most advanced technology and highly trained staff. The perinatal center ensures that the critical needs of the community’s most vulnerable newborns are met, while providing the best care available for pregnant women.

• Antepartum unit for high-risk pregnancy monitoring is available at both our Hackensack and Neptune locations. Women with high-risk pregnancies, including abnormal placentation, are monitored by maternal fetal medicine experts until your little one arrives.
• Infant Apnea Center of New Jersey, a specialty program of the Division of Neonatology, provides diagnostic testing, coordination of services, and follow-up evaluations for infants requiring home cardio-respiratory monitoring or oxygen therapy.
• Neonatal intensive care units (NICU) have been expanded at both our Hackensack and Neptune locations, and offer specialized treatments such as therapeutic hypothermia (available on-site and during transport), nitric oxide, high-frequency ventilation and lactation support with donor breastmilk.
• NICVIEW® technology allows parents to view their babies from a secure online portal. Parents and loved ones can log on from a computer or mobile device and monitor their infant’s progress.
• The Joseph M. Sanzari NICU is the first and only NICU in the state to receive Disease Specific Certification for Prematurity from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations for implementing a special small baby unit to improve survival without major morbidities in inborn infants < 30 weeks GA

Newborn conditions we treat

Our dedicated specialists and board-certified neonatologists are specifically trained to diagnose and treat newborns with the most complex and high-risk conditions, such as:

Birth defects

Blood conditions

Breathing and pulmonary conditions

Brain Injury

Cardiac evaluations and treatment

Conditions requiring neonatal surgery, including neurosurgery and pulmonary surgery

Congenital diaphragmatic hernias

Conjoined twins

Craniofacial conditions

Genetic conditions

Hydrocephalus

Infections

Infant Apnea

Retinopathy of Prematurity

In treating these conditions, neonatologists work to:

• Coordinate any medical care, should the baby require surgery
• Diagnose, stabilize and treat infants with any life-threatening medical issues
• Ensure that the infant is receiving proper nutrients for healing, growth and development
• Medically manage the specific needs of the infant throughout their stay in the NICU
• Provide initial care to the infant during delivery, should the baby require medical intervention

The NICU team

Your newborn’s medical care is provided by board-certified neonatologists available 24 hours a day. We incorporate input from all members of the team, including neonatal nurses, respiratory therapists, pediatric physical and occupational therapists, genetics experts and lactation consultants. Our goal is to provide your baby with the highest level of specialized care.

Family-centered care

To further support family-centered care, the Family Resource Room is a quiet space for NICU families. Open 24 hours a day, the space provides computers with internet access and Wi-Fi for mobile devices.

When a baby graduates from the NICU, follow up for all medical and surgical care is coordinated during a discharge team meeting. The family is referred to our child development program for evaluation of the child’s growth and development, and early intervention programs if needed.