Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital prepares for new NICU

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - Phoebe health officials say a major upgrade is coming to their Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) as they prepare to move into a new facility.

Right now Phoebe’s NICU is 11,000 square feet but once construction is completed on the new NICU Phoebe will have four times the NICU space- allowing nurses to help more babies in need.

While some babies start their lives in their mother’s arms, others like baby Sylo started life in a NICU.

“He’s always sleep,” new dad Juanlayundre Perry, said about his son Sylo. “They wanted to go ahead and have him before he could get an infection.”

At Phoebe, there are 600 plus NICU admissions each year. Right now, the department is licensed to have 27 beds but more than 40 babies are cared for every day. Phoebe is one of six regional perinatal centers in Georgia.

“On occasion, if we are really at capacity in our current space, we go into diversion. What that means is that we don’t bring babies from the region here but because we’re the regional perinatal center, we still go and care for those babies. So, we will send a team to the baby, care for them, stabilize them, and then transport them to a NICU that does have the space,” said Jennifer Heleski, Director of Phoebe Women and Children’s Services.

The new NICU Center will be on the 2nd floor of Phoebe’s new Trauma and Critical Care Tower, which has been under construction for almost a year and a half. Heleski says the additional space will help them avoid going into diversion as often while giving families more privacy as their babies receive care.

“We want to be able to care for as many of them that truly need it in our community and keep them from having to go further away,” Heleski said.

Right now, Phoebe officials are hoping they’ll be able to move in this winter once construction is completed.

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