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 Gundersen Lutheran has an 8-12 bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for newborn babies who need close medical attention. The NICU combines advanced technology and trained healthcare professionals to provide specialized care for the tiniest patient.
Most babies admitted to the NICU are premature, have low birth weight or have a condition that requires special medical or surgical care. Twins, triplets and other multiples are often admitted to the NICU, as they tend to be born earlier and smaller than single-birth babies. Babies with medical conditions such as most heart and respiratory problems, infections or birth defects are also cared for in the NICU.
The staff of the NICU focuses on family centered care. We offer unoccupied patient rooms (hospitel), as available, for parents to stay as close to their baby as possible. The NICU also has a family room where a stable baby and parents can have privacy and time together as a family. We also use this room to give families an opportunity to room-in with their baby, as they get ready to go home.
 Gundersen Lutheran provides lactation support to moms by having a certified lactation consultant available seven days a week. Our certified lactation consultant not only helps moms with breastfeeding techniques, but also helps with breast pumping to express milk for those babies that are unable to nipple feed.
The NICU has a family resource nurse who works closely with families to make the transition home go as smoothly as possible. She helps coordinate services for equipment and support that may be needed at home. The NICU staff spends time teaching and working with families so they are comfortable taking their baby home. There are also a wide variety of educational videos that we encourage parents to watch.
The NICU has 24-hour in-house coverage by either a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) or a Physician Assistant (PA). The neonatal physician is available when needed as well. Rounds on patients take place every day on every patient; this includes the physician, NNP/PA, family resource nurse and the staff nurse caring for that patient that day. Multidisciplinary rounds take place several times a week and as needed; included in these rounds are the respiratory therapist, clergy, dietician, and pharmacist as well as the physician, NNP/PA and nurse. Pediatric specialties such as cardiology, neurology, nephrology, genetics, surgery, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopaedics and others are available to provide consultation as well.
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