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36 • September 2016 Level II NICU Opens at Florida Hospital Memorial Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center officially opened a 16-bed Level II neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to care for sick and premature babies, expanding the hospital’s bed count from 277 to 293. The hospital celebrated this milestone with the community, offering tours of the new NICU to the public, as well as games and refreshments. Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center’s new Level II NICU is the only one in Volusia County with private family-centered rooms. “Our NICU is so very different. With our private rooms, babies don’t have to be separated from their parents,” said Darlinda Copeland, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center senior vice president and chief operating officer. “In other NICUs, parents can only spend a limited amount of time with their child. But in our NICU, parents can spend 24 hours a day with their child in a private room, complete with a refrigerator, as well as sleeping and showering accommodations, so that they never need to leave their child.” “Providing a private room for each baby and their family is better for the babies and it is better for the families,” Becky Vernon, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center director of women and children’s services. “A private room has been shown to reduces the risk of infections, as well as provide a better bonding experience for babies and families, simply by having their own room, where they can spend more one-on-one time in a quieter, private space. All of this combined helps create a more healing environment, allowing families to go home sooner than they would in other, older NICUs.” In addition, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center’s NICU is affiliated with the Level III NICU at Florida Hospital for Children in Orlando. A Level III NICU offers the highest level of neonatal care available for premature and sick babies. Through this unique relationship, Florida Hospital for Children’s team of specialized neonatologists, neonatal nurse practitioners, and neonatal nurses have trained with the clinical team at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center, preparing the Daytona Beach hospital’s clinical team to provide the highest quality care possible to infants in need. Nearly two years ago, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center received the designation from the state to build a Level II NICU and invested $10 million to expand the hospital’s fourth floor by 16,300 square feet to connect the new NICU to the existing birthing center. The NICU’s research-based design equips the 16 private rooms with incubators, ventilators and other specialized technology to care for newborns 32 weeks and older. Pictured (Top):From left to right: Michele Goeb-Burkett, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center chief nursing officer; Ed Noseworthy, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center CEO; Darlinda Copeland, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center senior vice president and chief operating officer; Dr. Cecilia Tapia, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center medical director of the Birth Care Center; Dr. Rene Santin, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center neonatologist; Becky Vernon, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center director of women and children’s services; Debbie Thomas, chief financial officer for the Florida Hospital East Florida Region; John Oliveri, Florida Hospital Memorial Foundation chairman; and Dr. Hezi Cohen, Florida Hospital Memorial Foundation board member. (Middle): Becky Vernon, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center director of women and children’s services, spoke to a crowd during the hospital’s grand opening celebration. (Bottom: Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center’s new Level II neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is the only one in Volusia County with private family-centered rooms. Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center invested $10 million to expand the hospital’s fourth floor by 16,300 square feet to connect the new NICU to the existing birthing center. The NICU’s research-based design equips the 16 private rooms with incubators, ventilators and other specialized technology to care for newborns 32 weeks and older.


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