Expert Team Care
Taking care of the sick and premature infants in a neonatal
intensive care unit
requires compassion, skill and the highest level of expertise.
In addition to nationally recognized physicians, the Texas
Children’s Newborn Center team includes more than 500
highly specialized neonatal nurses and other health care
professionals who provide expert patient care 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week.
When your baby is admitted to one of our
NICUs, a team of these specialists is chosen to work with
you and the doctors to meet the unique health care needs of
your baby and to provide the best possible care. Virtually any pediatric subspecialist
your baby may need is nearby and available 24 hours a day, 7
days a week.
And since Texas Children's is an academic medical center, our team members are the health care professionals who train other medical professionals. This means that the experts at Texas Children's Newborn Center
help set the standards of care nationally.
Our expert team of professionals includes:
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Child life specialists
– Child life specialists use comfort and play to help
promote normal, healthy development. They also help young
children cope with having a brother or sister in the NICU.
-
Dietitians
– The registered dietitians who work at Texas Children’s
receive extra training in the very specialized area of
neonatal nutrition. We are 1 of only 2 federally funded programs
nationally to offer this type of specialized
training in neonatal nutrition.
-
Fellows
– These pediatricians are receiving advanced training in
neonatal medicine and are supervised by our newborn
specialists. They are an important part of your baby's
care team.
-
Lactation consultants
– Our experienced breastfeeding specialists provide a
variety of services to breastfeeding mothers and their
infants. In addition to outpatient consultations, they
have special training to help mothers of hospitalized infants breastfeed or provide breast milk to their
babies.
-
Neonatal nurse practitioners
– Advanced registered
nurse practitioners are nurses who are prepared at the
graduate educational level and hold either a masters or
doctorate degree in nursing. They also have advanced
certification as neonatal nurse practitioners (NNP). At
Texas Children's, our NNPs are part of an expert health
care team who will be involved in the care of your baby.
-
Neonatal nurses
– Our registered nurses are highly specialized in the
care of very sick or premature infants and their
families and are integral to the exceptional care
provided in our NICUs. Texas Children’s supports advanced training
and certification for all professional nurses in the
Newborn Center, making them a knowledgeable and critical
part of our dedicated team of professionals.
-
Neonatal clinical specialists –
These professionals are registered nurses with
master’s degrees, who integrate evidence-based research
into the theory and research of neonatal nursing and
provide educational consultation to families and other
care providers. They establish patient care standards
and assess needs in the family, nursery and community to
employ educational program based on their findings.
- Neonatologists – The world-renowned
neonatologists at
Texas Children's Newborn Center are specifically trained to handle high-risk
newborn situations, ranging from prematurity to birth
defects. These physicians have training
leading to certification
in pediatrics and neonatology by the American Board of Pediatrics and the Sub-board of
Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. The neonatologists at Texas
Children's Newborn Center use
evidence-based treatments to provide the best available care
for your child.
- Occupational and
physical therapists
– These specialists help hospitalized babies learn the
skills they need to leave the hospital. At Texas
Children's Hospital, our occupational and physical
therapists often continue to work with babies after
they go home.
- Pharmacists
– These dedicated professionals supervise the tiny doses
of medicine used to treat fragile infants. They work with the Newborn Center medical team
to ensure quality and reduce the chances of medication
errors.
- Respiratory therapists
– Neonatal respiratory therapists apply high-tech life
support with compassionate hands-on care to help babies
breathe. They manage mechanical ventilators, perform
blood gas analysis and monitor a baby’s lung function.
During your time in the NICU
you may also meet social workers, chaplains and
pediatric residents.
