care centers neonatal intensive care (nicu) Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach | Level III Critical Care
Jaiden has always been unpredictable, even before she was born. She came into this world almost three months premature, weighing only 1 pound, 7 ounces at Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach. She was so small, she fit in the palm of her mother's hand. Miraculously, Jaiden overcame these challenges and has gone from fitting into her mother's hand to becoming an enjoyable handful. When Vickie was six months pregnant, she discovered she had a condition that can lead to the compression of the umbilical cord, preventing the baby from receiving the right nutrition and interfering with the baby's oxygen supply. After a risky cesarean birth, newborn Jaiden was rushed to the NICU at Miller Children's. Vickie was relieved to know that Jaiden wasn't going too far away and was taken just right down the hall in a level III NICU known for its specialized care for the most critically ill newborns. Both mom and baby, were monitored and cared for by a team of experts in high-risk pregnancy and neonatology, all under the same roof, just footsteps away. "Jaiden is another example of one of our many success stories from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach." says Arthur Strauss, M.D. Medical Directorr, NICU, Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach. " Miller Children's is a level III NICU meaning we are equipped to handle some of the most critically ill babies in the state. Our specialized team uses state-of-the-art technology to treat these tiny patients, resulting in one of the highest risk-adjusted survival rates." Today, Vickie and Jaiden are healthier than ever thanks to the specialized care of mom and baby, at Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach. Level III Critical Care
Importance of Level III CareA study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that a high-risk infant born in a hospital with a Level III NICU has a significantly higher survival rate than a similar infant born in a hospital without a NICU. The NICU at Miller Children’s is a designated California Children's Services Regional Special Care Center and the NICU Surgery Center is also California Children’s Services approved. Advanced Neonatal CareThe benefit of Miller Children’s being a free-standing children’s hospital, is critically ill babies and their families have direct access to a wide range of board-certified pediatric medical and surgical sub-specialists, as well as supportive care, that allows treatment across the full range of neonatal illnesses. Also, the perinatal special care unit for high-risk moms is just footsteps away from the NICU in the MemorialCare Center for Women at Miller Children’s. This allows round-the-clock access to specialists and sub-specialists for both women and babies all under one roof. The NICU at Miller Children’s provides care for some of the region’s sickest babies:
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Jaiden is a spirited toddler whose radiant smile and contagious laughter lights up any room during playtime. Her energy shows promise of a bright future for this once critically ill preemie. First time mom Vickie loves watching Jaiden grow up so big and so fast even if it's hard to keep up with her.
The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach is designated level III by the state – meaning this unit has the advanced care capacity, along with skilled specialists, to care for the sickest and most critically ill and premature babies. Miller Children’s has a 93-bed level III NICU-with 24 private NICU bays. Currently, the NICU at Miller Children’s is the largest level III NICU in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego Counties treating more than 1,000 critically ill and premature babies each year.
