Where preemies, ailing babies find hope: Five things about Palms West Hospital's new $6M NICU

ROYAL PALM BEACH — HCA Florida Palms West Hospital has unveiled $6 million in improvements to its New Life Center that will allow its staff to offer critical services to babies born prematurely or with health conditions.

Toni Ahern, the hospital's director of women's services, said the upgrade to a Level III NICU marks a new era for maternal and infant care.

"The new NICU allows families to stay together at the New Life Center while newborns receive advanced specialized care," Ahern said. "This is truly a patient-centered unit designed to keep families together and ease the stress of having a baby with complex medical needs."

Palms West Hospital cut the ribbon Feb. 2, unveiling a facility that features incubators with high-resolution cameras, state-of-the-art medical equipment and intensive-care doctors.

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The staff invited Claudio Ruiz, one of Palms West's first obstetricians to join them for the celebration. Ahern said Ruiz delivered and cared for babies at the hospital for over 20 years, and his picture is still framed at the entrance of the NICU.

"I left my heart here," said Ruiz, who had always called the hospital "mi casa" — Spanish for "my home."

Here are five things to know about Palms West and its Level III NICU.

Palms West has invested in children's health, and births there have soared.

Few hospitals in Palm Beach County have made as great a commitment to the medical care of expectant mothers and children as Palms West.

The hospital welcomed its first baby in the late 1990s, when cow pastures still encircled its campus along Southern Boulevard. It now offers complete pediatric services, operates the Your New Life Center for expectant mothers and has the only emergency room dedicated to children in western Palm Beach County.

Births at the Palms West maternity ward have consistently increased over the last few years. In 2017, it welcomed 1,596 babies. Last year it delivered 2,096, according to hospital data.

Palms West's entire fourth floor will now be dedicated to obstetrics and the Level III NICU.

"We have dedicated ourselves to taking care of the most vulnerable, youngest, sickest children in our community," said Dr. Steven Pliskow, who chairs the hospital's obstetrician-gynecologist board.

What is a NICU? And what does Level III mean for babies in need?

Neonatal intensive-care units are specialized areas of care for newborns who need medical attention.

Palms West upgraded from a Level I unit, which many hospitals have, to Level II in 2017, allowing staff to care for premature infants born after 32 weeks. Now, as a Level III NICU, it will be able to care for all premature babies and treat them for infections, birth defects, breathing difficulties and growth restrictions.

"More families will be able to stay together, rather than the baby's needing to be transferred out," Ahearn said.

She started work at Palms West when the NICU was still at Level I and has been there for 32 years. She congratulated her team for meeting the high-quality standards of care that allow for the unit's expansion.

More:Lakeside Medical Center to shut down its baby-delivery unit, citing a steep drop in births

"What started as an aspiration to fill the needs of neonatal services in our community has grown to a state-of-the-art center," said Ahern. "A place were the art and science of health care emerges to provide care for our smallest patients."

She thanked its nurses for being with her during the project, which she called her life's greatest achievement.

"Without you, the New Life Center is just rooms and equipment," Ahern said with tears clouding her eyes. "You are the heart and soul of the center."

The $6 million project more than doubles the NICU's capacity.

The expansion added eight beds to the NICU, increasing its capacity to 15. It features “Giraffe” beds, or incubators equipped with cameras able to provide real-time medical information on the baby’s health. They also allow parents to see their child when they need to leave the hospital.

The unit features wide windows to let in natural light, sitting areas for parents and new equipment such as ventilators, X-ray machines, ultrasound and echocardiographic devices and Panda warmers, or tables built to keep newborns warm while doctors examine them.

The project will add 26 jobs at one of the western communities' largest employers.

HCA Palms West already is one of the biggest employers in the county's western communities, with 950 employees, and the $6 million project will boost its ranks to nearly 1,000.

The hospital will hire 26 positions between neonatologists, obstetricians and nurses to staff the expanded children's center.

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The move will help Palms West treat expectant mothers from The Glades.

Lakeside Medical Center in Belle Glade, Palm Beach County's only public hospital, closed its maternity unit last year citing a drop in births.

Patients from The Glades can now be transferred to Palms West on ambulances provided by the Palm Beach County Health Care District, and the Level III NICU will be available to serve them.

Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Loxahatchee and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on Twitter at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palms West Hospital unveils NICU for premature, ailing babies