VCU Medical Center Neonatal Intensice Care Unit celebrates 30th anniversary

By Michael Ford and Sharon Cone

WHAT:  The Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is celebrating 30 years of service to the most fragile pediatric patients in Central Virginia - critically ill newborns and tiny babies born prematurely.  Former patients and their families have been invited to join the NICU staff for an anniversary event that is part reunion and part tribute to the medical professionals who specialize in the care of critically ill children who often are too sick or too small to breathe on their own.

Fully equipped with the latest instrumentation and life-support techniques, the NICU cares for newborns and infants with a wide range of problems, including all types of respiratory, surgical, cardiac, genetic, renal, neurological, hematological and metabolic diseases.

Established in 1974, the NICU is the regional referral center for hospitals in Richmond and outlying areas, including Fredericksburg, the Northern Neck, Emporia, South Hill, Farmville and Williamsburg.  Patients arrive via ambulance with a special transport incubator equipped with several devices neonatal transport nurses use to keep a premature child alive en route to the NICU.

The NICU is the VCU Medical Center's largest critical-care service and the oldest and largest unit of its kind in Central Virginia. Averaging 450 admissions a year, the 40-bed unit is staffed by a team of neonatologists, additional pediatric specialists and 100 registered nurses, certified in neonatal care.

WHERE:      Children's Museum of Richmond, 2626 W. Broad St.

WHO:          * John Duval, CEO, MCV Hospitals of the VCU Health System
                  * Lauren Goodloe, director, medical and pediatric nursing, VCU
                     Medical Center
                  * Dr. Gary Gutcher, chair, Division of Neonatal-Perinatal
                     Medicine
                  * Sharon Cone, nurse manager, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
                  * Former NICU patients and their families

WHEN:           5-9 p.m., Aug. 7, 2004