BronxCare serves one of the highest risk populations in the United States, with a disproportionate share of low birth weight babies born in comparison to the national average. When considering these and the many other challenges it faces, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit’s accomplishments are clearly remarkable. In fact, its Neonatal mortality rate of 2.06 per 1,000 live births during the past five years is significantly lower than the National average of 4.14.
They are the tiniest of babies, many born premature and often beset with multiple medical problems. Thanks to BronxCare’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, these babies are winning their battles for life. Sometimes it is the little victories that make the difference. Other times it is the smallest of patients that create the largest challenges— that is when the neonatal team is called into action. Its 99 percent survival rate in saving babies weighing as little as one pound at birth is among the highest in the nation. Success is the best word to describe BronxCare’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: success in providing the highest quality state-of-the-art medical services and success in terms of the many neonatal graduates that come back as young adults to simply say thank you to the staff for saving their lives.
Currently, there are 40 beds in the NICU, giving the gift of life to more than 600 newborns each year. These medically fragile newborns receive highly specialized care from neonatal nurses.