Centura Health
Colorado Springs, Colorado
The expanded Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at St. Francis Medical Center provides an extremely high level of care for babies born before 32 weeks or who weigh less than 3.3 pounds, are critically ill, or need equipment to help them breathe. To offer this level of care, the expanded NICU features:
- Increased NICU capacity from 30 beds to 46 beds
- Two state-of-the-art couplet rooms, where mothers and babies can stay together and receive expert, round-the-clock care (St. Francis Medical Center’s NICU is the only NICU in Colorado and only the fourth in the nation with couplet rooms.)
- Increased space to care for multiples (twins, triplets, etc.)
- Advanced room lighting to support and stimulate babies’ circadian rhythms
- A family sleeping zone with privacy partitions and full private restrooms
- Outdoor patio space and a wellness garden
- A NICU family lounge to allow families of NICU patients to connect with other families in similar circumstances
- A breast milk storage room
- A family pre-discharge room that supports parents preparing to leave the hospital and return to their homes
The NICU expansion is the first phase of a multi-part, 168,000-square-foot, $102-million project that also includes a new emergency department, new operating rooms, new antepartum rooms, and shell space for future growth.
RMH is serving as the project’s mechanical/electrical engineer and lighting designer.