About UsNew PICU/PCICU Opens
NICU Virtual Tour
Our Neonatal ICU Team
- Jay Milstein, M.D.,
Chief, Division of Neonatology - Albert Chan, M.D.
- Ian Griffin, M.D.
- Anthony Philipps, M.D.
- Jeannette Pleasure, M.D.
- Francis Poulain, M.D.
- Nirupama Subramanian, M.D.
- Mark Underwood, M.D.
- Sandra Ellingson, M.S.N., C.P.N.P., C.N.S., N.N.P.
- Jeanette Harrison, M.S.N., C.C.N.S.
- Marlys Samski, R.N.C., M.S.N., M.P.H., N.N.P.
- Jenny Solano, A.P.R.N., M.S., N.N.P.-B.C.
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Affiliations
Families of infants treated in the NICU may be away from home for extended periods of time.
The Kiwanis Family House and the Ronald McDonald House on the UC Davis campus provide families a home-away-from-home at little or no cost.
These accommodations provide families with a variety of amenities, including private bedrooms and kitchen facilities and shared laundry facilities.
UC Davis Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
ON THIS PAGE
The UC Davis Children’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) was established in the 1970's to provide excellence in clinical care and promote research into health problems facing infants including those who are born very prematurely – at 37 weeks gestation or earlier – are very ill or require surgery, often to correct congenital anomalies. The UC Davis Children’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), is the designated Level III nursery for the Sacramento Region, caring for infants from throughout Northern California. The Special Care Nursery is a Level II designated unit for children who are seriously ill but expected to recover more rapidly.
The 49-bed combined NICU and Special Care Nursery includes a 1-bed isolation room and is staffed by neonatologists 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Working with subspecialists in other fields, such as cardiology and pulmonology, our team of experts treats infants with a variety of health conditions, including:
- Birth asphyxia
- Congenital heart disease
- Congenital anomalies (birth defects)
- Jaundice
- Infectious diseases like pneumonia
- Respiratory distress
Prenatal Diagnosis
Through close collaboration with perinatologists in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, as well as referring physicians from throughout Northern California, UC Davis Children’s Hospital neonatologists are able to plan for the care of infants diagnosed with congenital anomalies before birth.
Specialized diagnostic and therapeutic equipment in the NICU includes:
- Conventional mechanical ventilation
- Inhaled nitric oxide for respiratory distress for premature infants
- High-frequency ventilation using oscillator and jet ventilators to treat infants with severe respiratory distress
- Extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) or Extra-corporeal Life Support (ECLS) is available for severe respiratory failure, persistent pulmonary hypertension of the neonate, and congenital heart disease
- Specialized feeding evaluations for infants with craniofacial or development issues
- Whole body cooling (hypothermia) program for the treatment of neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy
Follow-up Care
Following treatment in the Intensive Care Nursery, premature and newborn infants may receive developmental evaluations and interventions and ongoing care from developmental pediatricians in the UC Davis high risk neonatal follow-up clinic.
