Programs and Services
Services provided by the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Driscoll Children’s Hospital include, but are not limited to:
- Whole body cooling therapy: This therapy will lower a baby’s temperature safely so the body slows down and uses less energy. It lets the body heal faster from a rough start at the time of birth and is used in an attempt to protect their brain from any other injuries.
- Avastin® therapy: Avastin® is a drug that works by blocking a chemical signal that prevents new abnormal blood vessels from growing. This injection is used for the treatment of retinopathy of prematurity, a disease that causes blindness in premature infants.
- Aquapheresis: This treatment removes extra water from the body, which can help relieve problems on other organs, allowing for more effective breathing and places less stress on the heart.
- Kangaroo Care: Kangaroo Care is a practice that started in Colombia in the late 1970s and has been used worldwide since. Kangaroo Care means holding your baby skin-to-skin, against the parent's chest.
- Mom’s Place: Mom's Place can help you initiate and maintain a successful breastfeeding relationship with your child.
Surgical Services
Driscoll's NICU is a Level 4 NICU and we receive referrals and transfers from across South Texas to care for babies with a wide variety of surgical needs. Our surgical services include, but are not limited to:
- Pediatric surgery: This is a subspecialty of surgery involving the surgery of fetuses, infants, children, adolescents, and young adults
- Neurosurgery: This is a subspecialty of neurology, which includes surgical procedures that are related to the nervous system, brain and spinal cord, and that treats children with operable neurological disorders.
- Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgery: This is a subspecialty for patients with surgical or complex medical needs affecting the ear, nose, or throat.
- Orthopedic surgery: They are specialists who treat musculoskeletal (bone, joint, back, or muscle) problems in babies and children. Their specialty training is particularly valuable when treating bones that are still growing.
The majority of these surgeries are done in the NICU to reduce the stress on the baby.
Other coordinated services include, but are not limited to:
- Critical Care Transport Team (fixed wing / helicopter/ground transportation)
- Full-time social worker, discharge planner, case managers and pharmacist
- Breastfeeding facilities and lactation specialist
- Pastoral services
- Rooming-in facility for pre-discharge
Developmental Care
Meeting babies' special needs is at the heart of Developmental Care. The Level 4 NICU at Driscoll Children's Hospital helps babies feel comfortable and secure by using the following Developmental Care professionals and methods: