There always are nearly 50 babies in the unit. New arrivals are taken to one of the unit's smaller rooms, where they can be closely monitored through the first few critical days. As the health of the infants improve, they move to larger areas in the unit. Although the long room at the southwest corner of the hospital has plenty of monitors, tubes and wires, the room is designed to resemble a home. The gray walls are decorated with colorful paintings of birdhouses.
Cabinets look like small houses.
Comfortable rocking chairs sit in front of each of the isolettes where mothers can hold and feed their children. Isolettes are clear plastic units that keep the temperature constant. Heartbeat and breathing also can be closely checked. Fifty of the 200 staff members who work in the unit are respiratory therapists. Breathing is a major concern because the lungs are the last organs to develop.