Neonatal Services at Grady Hospital

The Grady Health System is a comprehensive health care delivery system. In addition to its two downtown hospitals, the 952 bed Grady Memorial hospital and 84 bed Hughes Spalding Children's Hospital, the System has 10 Neighborhood Health Centers throughout the two counties it serves, Fulton and DeKalb Counties. It has areas of specialized services such as the Poison Control Center, the Regional Burn Center, the Sickle Cell Center, and it is the home base of the Emory Regional Perinatal Center.

The Emory Regional Perinatal Center is one of 6 designated centers in the state. The newborn care component of the Emory Regional Perinatal Center is provided by the Nurseries at Grady Memorial Hospital, Crawford W. Long Hospital, and Children’s' Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston.

Annually, over 4,300 babies are delivered at Grady Memorial Hospital . There are approximately 550 admissions to the Grady Special Care Nurseries each year. There are two Special Care areas, one with 42 beds which are primarily NICU/ventilator beds and a 27-bed Intermediate Care Area. The average daily censes of these areas are 27.5 and 21.5 respectively. The average daily census of the mother-baby area is 29.1.

The nursery is an active site of research and education. It is one of 16 centers in the United States participating in the NIH Neonatal Network clinical studies. Trainees from both Emory and Morehouse Medical Schools have Neonatology rotations through the Grady Nurseries.

The Grady NICU is a level 3 Neonatology Unit. It is staffed by the Emory neonatologists. Emory surgeons and sub-specialists provide consultative support for complex patients. Nitric oxide and High Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation are among the available treatment modalities. There is excellent multidisciplinary support from: neonatal nutritionists, respiratory therapists, neonatal nurses, and neonatal physical therapists. There is a satellite pharmacy specifically for neonatal hyperalimentation preparation and unit dosing of neonatal medications. There is a nationally funded program, Project Prevent, to aid in the specific care issues which arise from maternal substance use. There is a long term developmental follow-up program for the high-risk NICU graduates.