All expectant parents hope that their baby will be healthy. Yet sometimes problems arise that require a newborn to be hospitalized. When this happens, the baby may be admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for treatment. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Penn State Children's Hospital in Hershey provides a compelling example of the mission at work.  Team members provide specialized, intensive and follow-up care for all sick and newborn infants.  All patients with medical or surgical conditions are cared for in our 28 bed NICU, fully equipped for all forms of life support including:   continuous electronic monitoring, high frequency oscillatory ventilation, heart-lung (ECMO), inhaled nitric oxide therapy, and surgical correction of congenital defects.

Sick newborns need specialized treatment, because they are still developing rapidly. Although not all babies in the NICU have the same illness or condition, there are several diagnoses common to newborns who need intensive care.