NICU Clinical Quality Data
The Ahmanson Pediatric Center's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Cedars-Sinai is a 45-bed, state-of-the-art facility designed to address the needs of critically ill babies, premature newborns or infants requiring close observation.
Of the 7,000 babies delivered at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center each year, 750 are admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Beds are always available to babies born at Cedars-Sinai who need neonatal intensive care services.
The Cedars-Sinai Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is a designated California Children's Services Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Because the Cedars-Sinai Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is a Level 3C provider of newborn services, babies never need to be transported out of the medical center for a higher level of care.
Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Cedars-Sinai have 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week access to in-house neonatologists. All Cedars-Sinai neonatologists are board-certified specialists who have met the requirements of education, training and experience to care for California Children's Services patients. The unit provides access to consultants, surgeons and support services that allow treatment across the full range of neonatal problems. It provides four levels of care including:
- Intensive
- Intermediate
- Isolation
- Continuing care
The NICU is equipped with the latest technology and offers the most modern treatment modalities to provide the highest level of care. All high-risk infants are followed up after their discharge from the unit.
Specific quality of care measures at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Cedars-Sinai are described below. To learn more about how patient families evaluated their experience at the Cedars-Sinai Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, click here.
Neonatal Mortality Rate
The table below shows how Cedars-Sinai's neonatal mortality rate compares with that of other Neonatal Intensive Care Units across the nation. The national data was collected in 2008 and reported in the January 2011 issue of Pediatrics.
A lower percentage is better than a higher one.
| Neonatal Mortality Rate | Cedars-Sinai 2010 | 2008 Vital Statistics, Pediatrics, January 2011 |
| The Neonatal Mortality Rate reflects the percent of babies who do not survive beyond the first 28 days of life. | 0.22% | 0.43% |
Quality Measures for Very Low Birth Weight Babies
Babies who weigh between 500 to 1,500 grams (1.1 to 3.3 pounds) at birth have special challenges that must be overcome if they are to survive. The following table shows factors that are measured to determine the quality of care provided to very low birth weight babies.
A low percentage is better than a high percentage.
| Quality Measures for Very Low Birth Weight Babies | Cedars-Sinai 2010 | National Average 2010 VON |
| Chronic Lung Disease. This reflects the percentage of very low birth weight babies who need continuous supplemental oxygen support. | 20.4% | 26.6% |
| Intraventricular Hemorrhage. This reflects the percentage of very low birth weight babies who have severe bleeding in the ventricles of the brain. | 6.4% | 9.3% |
| Periventricular Leukomalacia: The percentage of very low birth weight babies whose brains develop multiple small cysts in the white matter. | 3.2% | 3.1% |
| Nosocomial Infection: This reflects the percentage of very low birth weight babies who have acquired infections in the hospital | 3.1% | 14.6% |
| Hearing Loss. The percentage of very low birth weight babies who fail an initial hearing screen exam. | 1.2% | N/A |
