St. Tammany Health System relocated its Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) on Oct. 20 with a New Orleans second line parade.
With Giraffe OmniBed incubator in tow, Kristine Chimento, MD, medical director of the 14-bed NICU, and the entire care team paraded to Mardi Gras music, waving pink and blue hankies down the hallway from the old to the new NICU.
According to Suzanne Fraiche, director of the health system’s NICU and Ochsner Hospital for Children at St. Tammany Health System, the celebration was apropos given how quickly western St. Tammany’s population continues to grow.
The new NICU is the latest activation in St. Tammany Health System’s recently completed four-story new patient tower, encompassing significantly more space to accommodate advanced technology for the Northshore’s most fragile newborns. The large, modern space also adds comfort for families of neonates admitted to the unit.
“We are jazzed to be in this new NICU,” Chimento said. “I really enjoyed second-lining because I’ve been waiting so patiently for the day that we were able to move and provide more comfort and care for these babies.”
Chimento said that with recent investments in technology and the addition of more pediatric specialists over the past few years at St. Tammany Health System, fewer babies will require transport to other facilities in the region to receive the care they need.
“That means so much for a family, to be close to their babies while they’re getting this care,” Chimento said. “This neonatal ICU, with its larger space, definitely gives us the ability to take great care of these patients and continue providing world-class healthcare close to home.”
The Level III NICU, STHS pediatric emergency department, and a third-floor pediatric inpatient and intensive unit known as Ochsner Hospital for Children at St. Tammany Health System serves children on the Northshore. Designated a Certified Autism Center by IBCCES, Ochsner Hospital for Children at St. Tammany Health System is staffed by Ochsner and STHS physicians and nurses with specialized training in caring for patients age 18 and under.