And it’s already providing immense benefits, serving preemies and babies born with birth defects or genetic disorders — as early as 22 weeks and as small as one pound.

Primary Children’s Hospital has the only Level IV NICU in the Intermountain West, serving the most fragile newborns from Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nevada, and beyond: a 400,000-square-mile service area covering one of the largest geographies of any children’s hospital in the nation. We’re a unique NICU, with no other like it in this part of the country.

In fact, more than 65% of patient days are “unique” to Primary Children’s NICU — meaning the care cannot be provided anywhere else in Utah or many of the surrounding states.

Our new facility is now located directly adjacent to the Grant Scott Bonham Fetal Center, so families of newborns with complex illnesses can move seamlessly from the prenatal to postnatal care setting.

We’re now able to offer TeleCritical Care, state-of-the-art technology instantly alerting specially trained critical-care nurses to the slightest changes in each baby’s condition.

The new 34,000-square-foot NICU has doubled the size of the previous facility, providing 51 spacious, private rooms. This expanded space provides families with the private time that’s so essential during critical neonatal care and, for the first time, accommodates parents who want to stay overnight at their child’s side.

Family respite areas give parents places to get away, decompress, and recharge. And when they can’t be present with their newborn, parent-view “Angel Eye” cameras keep them connected from anywhere in the country.

Babies who transition out of the NICU may never know the heroic efforts made on their behalf. But their families will never forget. They will remember our NICU as a place where miracles happen – miracles made possible by the vision and compassion of our generous donors and committed caregiver teams.

“To me, extraordinary care in the NICU is defined by two things,” explains Kara Curnen, RN, Administrative Director, Neonatal Critical Care. “It's the clinical excellence, but it's also the service excellence. It's the compassion, the empathy, the listening, the singing to a baby, the holding and rocking, the hug for a mom. It's those two things combined that provide extraordinary care.”

This film features (in order of appearance) Katy Welkie, CEO, Primary Children’s Hospital; Dr. Con Yee Ling, Medical Director, Neonatal Critical Care; and Kara Curnen, RN, Administrative Director, Neonatal Critical Care, along with many cameos made by our Primary Children’s caregiver community.

Access our Newborn Intensive Care full-length film.

Here’s our Newborn Intensive Care film, 30-second version.

On Social Media

Hit SHARE to your own personal pages to help us reach wider audiences, and encourage your contacts to share as well: Primary Children’s Facebook and Instagram pages as well as IH Foundation LinkedIn pages all host our new film.

Contributors

Ashley Babbitt, MSC
Philanthropy Marketing Manager
Intermountain Children's Health

LeeAnn Davis
Philanthropy Marketing Specialist
Intermountain Children’s Health