Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

 

Location 725 Welch Road, 2nd Floor Palo Alto, CA 94304

Phone: (650) 497-8800 Fax: (650) 497-8034

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) provides nationally-recognized, family-centered care for critically ill newborns with complex care needs. Our NICU is not just for premature babies or those carried through high-risk pregnancies – even full-term babies sometimes unexpectedly need a little extra support.
 
We are part of the Johnson Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Services.
 
 

Level III NICU – Providing the Highest Level of Neonatal Care

Packard Children’s Hospital provides a full range of highly specialized (subspecialty) medical and surgical pediatric services. Having all of these subspecialists in one place means we can care for the very smallest and sickest babies, including newborns who:

• Need a machine to help them breathe (require conventional and high frequency assisted ventilation)
• Undergo surgery or cardiovascular surgery
• Require nitric oxide therapy to help combat lung problems
• Require cooling for neonatal brain injuries
• Have hereditary metabolic disorders and require dialysis and further diagnosis
• Need highly specialized care for complex problems 
• Require more complex therapies, such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Our hospital has been designated a Center of Excellence by the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO).

Our NICU is a 40-bed, Regional Level III NICU with ECMO unit.
 
 

Quick Access to Nationally-Recognized Neonatal Care

Babies born at Packard Children’s Hospital. Our NICU is just down the hall from Labor and Delivery. Our neonatologists and registered nurses (RNs) are a one-button call away to provide extra support for babies born at Packard Children’s Hospital. They also attend all Cesarean section deliveries.
 
Transfers to Packard Children’s Hospital. Every year, our dedicated neonatal transport team brings nearly 300 babies born at other hospitals to our NICU via ambulance or Life Flight helicopter. The team specializes in transporting, stabilizing and supporting critically ill newborns during the journey to our hospital.
 
 

Family-Centered Care and Support

Working in partnership with parents. Parents are core members of our NICU care team. We believe that your family’s participation on the health care team will improve your baby’s care. 
 
Getting the support and information you need. Our support team, including chaplains, social workers and interpreters, is here to help you throughout your baby’s hospital stay. You can also speak with current and former NICU parents to learn from their NICU experiences.
 
Learn more about family-centered care.
 
 

Learn More Why Might a Baby Need the NICU? Information for NICU Parents Road to Home Blankets for Babies Team

Related Information Neonatology Center for Fetal and Maternal Health Johnson Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Services

Video

•  Nursery Orientation - Information for parents of babies in the Packard Intensive Care Nursery (PICN) or Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
  
  
•  Johnson Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Services Overview - An introduction to our comprehensive obstetric, neonatal and developmental-behavioral pediatric services
  
  
• Joshua Lukas, age 21, returns to the NICU to thank Dr. William Rhine for the care and inspiration he provided when Joshua was born with pulmonary hypertension in 1989. Watch the video.