As Avera’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) patient population continues to grow, so does the complexity of patients – more medically complicated mothers and babies experiencing a greater number of health issues.
Avera’s NICU in Sioux Falls addresses these complex health needs by offering compassionate, family-centered care delivered via innovative technology and intentional design.
This strong hub of women’s and children’s specialty care in Sioux Falls and the network of expertise and services that branch out to every clinic across the health system make Avera uniquely equipped to care for the smallest and sickest babies in our region.
What to Expect in the NICU
As a Level IIIB NICU, Avera’s NICU is designed for babies who were born at less than 32 weeks’ gestation or have special medical needs.
The typical stay involves:
- Multidisciplinary care team – “It takes a village” to raise a child, and that village starts in the NICU. The care team includes neonatologists (doctors who are specially trained to care for medically complex babies), NICU nurse practitioners, NICU nurses, pediatric pharmacists, pediatric nutritionists, social workers, speech therapists, lactation specialists, occupational therapists and physical therapists. There is also an array of pediatric subspecialty physicians available 24/7 to help care for your infant.
- Family-centered rounds – Each day, the medical team visits each patient’s room to form and discuss the daily care plan. Parents are welcome and encouraged to join rounds when they’re able. Parents who can’t physically join can connect virtually.
- Parental involvement in daily cares – For most families, a NICU stay is unplanned and can be a large disruption to “normal life.” Our team works to ensure parents are still able to have as many of the normal newborn experiences as possible. We facilitate parent/infant bonding as much as possible based on the infant’s medical needs. This includes holding, skin-to-skin contact, diaper changes, feeds and baths. While we know a NICU stay doesn’t feel “normal,” we do everything we can to help parents celebrate all the small and large milestones.
What Is a Family-Centered NICU
At Avera, everything from the NICU’s physical space to the care provided by physicians, nurses, case managers and translators uses a whole-family approach, recognizing that one person being sick affects everyone in their circle.
“Even though the child is your patient, you’re treating the whole family,” said Katherine Wang, MD, Avera neonatologist and Clinical Vice President of the Women’s and Children’s Service Line.
This understanding is reflected in the department’s design. Avera supports families in the NICU by offering accommodations such as single-family rooms with pullout beds so parents can stay close to their baby during their stay. Amenities like laundry services help families feel more at home and maintain routine and normalcy.
Avera’s NICU was also designed so there isn’t as much noise in the room, which helps to make families’ stays less overwhelming.
“All of this helps with the baby’s care and gets mom engaged from the beginning and not so scared of the wires and beeps and bells and whistles,” said Wang.
Breastfeeding Support: Breast Milk Bank
The Avera Milk Collection Depot allows women to donate extra breastmilk to new mothers to help them provide their newborns with excellent nutrition. Avera has milk collection depots for the Mother’s Milk Bank of Iowa in Sioux Falls, Aberdeen, Marshall and Pierre.
Cutting-Edge NICU Resources in Sioux Falls
Avera’s neonatologists use the latest technology and resources to facilitate the best outcomes possible, including the following:
- Advanced imaging and respiratory support (such as ventilators)
- Bedside laboratory testing
- Hemodynamic monitoring
- Neonatal surgery
- Pediatric subspecialists
- Specialized developmental supports and specialized beds for preterm infants
- Specialized NICU high-risk and premature deliveries
- therapeutic hypothermia when necessary.
Systems are in place to ensure baby’s temperature and breathing are normal and that the team is alerted to changes at their station. In some cases, even moving an infant can cause distress, so bedside lab testing is also important.
Offering this highly specialized care in Sioux Falls means families do not have to travel to Minneapolis, Denver or Omaha.
“Realizing how much of life is beholden to a patient’s care schedule, if we can do it here, without the family having to travel to the next state over — that’s what we’ve done over the past 10 years is build up those services,” said Wang.
Supporting Rural Clinics With Neonatal Care
The nature of NICU care is that no one expects to need it.
“Adults can tell when they might need to be in the hospital or need a surgery — it’s something that’s planned or on the horizon,” said Wang. “With the NICU, it's unplanned. It's abrupt. It completely interrupts your life.”
This unpredictability necessitates nimble, well-connected clinics with quick access to subspecialists and referral capabilities, especially in rural areas where family practice doctors may be less experienced with medically complex obstetric care.
Leveraging Technology for Rural NICU Families
Crucial for NICU families living rurally is technology that connects them and their local clinics to timely, expert care.
Avera’s innovative care delivery ranges from telemedicine for services like eNICU to virtual consultations from pediatric intensivists and neonatologists available at local hospitals.
“Even when a doctor is delivering a baby at 2 a.m. in the most rural hospital in our footprint, they’re just a phone call away from a NICU doctor. They’re just a phone call away from a maternal fetal medicine specialist. That care is never far, and it's always accessible,” said Mara Hermiston, DO, Chief Medical Officer for Avera Medical Group.
These innovations promote peace of mind and cut down on hospital visits, keeping families close to their homes and support systems.
Experienced Emergency Transportation
While the preference is to care for patients locally whenever possible, the decision about where to provide care is guided largely by the future needs of mothers and their babies.
“The concern is not what does the patient need now, but what do she and her baby need four hours from now? And can we get you to the right place, or are we going to do fine where we are?” Wang said.
In instances when care must be moved to another facility, the continuous communication between rural clinics, community hospitals and the large referral medical center is seamlessly maintained by highly experienced Careflight emergency air transport teams.
“When my NICU team goes, I send a neonatal nurse practitioner and I send a NICU nurse, and they work with the core team nurse,” said Wang. “When they come to pick up your family member, they're ready to go. They know what they're doing.”
Expansion of Women’s and Children’s Care
The construction of a women’s and children’s tower in Sioux Falls will mean growth and greater synergy for the high-level NICU care Avera has already been providing.
“While the women's and children's hospital is currently under construction, our service line is already in full effect,” said Wang. “We’ve got the programs, specialties and expertise and are already doing the care now.”
