UVA Health Children’s announces NICU expansion

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - UVA Health Children’s is making some upgrades and expanding.

“At the end of the day, it’s about patient centered care. That is what UVA Health Children’s has always done,” said UVA Health Children’s Chief Cindy Bo.

Bo says they are investing money and resources into expanding their neonatal intensive care unit or NICU.

“Right now, we have 60 beds, and those 60 beds allow for care for the most complicated medical conditions, and they also are allowing to be able to ensure that the access to very critically ill children, babies, are able to access more care in the future,” said Bo.

By 2028, UVA Health Children’s NICU will have 40 more best, bringing the total to 100 beds. The extra spaces are critical because UVA’s NICU is often at full capacity.

“We are a quaternary NICU, which means we take care of the sickest from all over the state and so it would be a disservice to our babies and families not to have a bed available,” said Bo.

This investment will be an expansion into life-saving care and also allow room for more groundbreaking research and clinical trials.

“When I look at the NICU expansion, I think about all the subspecialty care that we provide,” said Bo. “We have other providers like cardiologists, general surgeons, and they come together to be able to provide the comprehensive integrated care that our babies need.”

Once the NICU expansion is done, UVA Health Children’s plans to expand its PICU, the pediatric care intensive unit.

Do you have a story idea? Send us your news tip here.