Level 6: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
200 Hawkins Drive Iowa City, IA 52242 United States
NIC1 Bay 2 & 3: 319-356-2888
NIC2 Bay 4 & Level 6: 319-384-9000
Level 6 is devoted to the needs of premature and critically ill babies and their families.
Our children’s hospital is home to Iowa’s only Level 4 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)—the highest level recognized by the American Academy of Pediatrics. This means that our NICU is equipped to care for the tiniest and most critically ill babies, offering the greatest range of neonatal services and support. In addition, our children’s hospital has the only nationally ranked neonatology program in the state.
Getting there: Take the public elevators to Level 6; look for the blue bird icon. For the safety of all patients and visitors all inpatient units are secured to request entry, call the unit clerk from the phone in the elevator lobby. Once admitted to the unit, visitors must wash their hands as directed.
Patients We Serve
Helpful resources for patients and families while on Level 6
- Welcome to the NICU
- Resources for NICU Families
- First Footprint
- Childhood Immunizations
- Car Seat Recommendations
- Safe Sleep
- Iowa Newborn Screening Program
- Essential Tummy Time Movement
- NICU transfer to Peds
- Local Hospital Transfer
- Getting Ready to Take your Baby Home
- Care after discharge
- Daisy Award Nomination form
- MyChart Information
- TV Channel Guide
- How to cope when you are home
- Finding Your Way
- Driving Directions & Parking
- Safety Store
- Food for Families
- Notice of Privacy Practices
- Patient Rights & Responsibilities
To offer the best care to the sickest babies, 49 NICU beds are located just steps away from Labor and Delivery. An additional 28 rooms are located on Level 6 Stead Family Childrens Hospital. The spacious private rooms to enhance healing and rest. At the west end, four larger rooms support twins, for a total of 32 beds.
Each patient room will be divided into three areas. The care team zone includes a sink and access to supplies. The patient zone includes the patient’s bed and the OneView TV (a interactive education and entertainment system for patients and families). The family zone includes a sleeping area to support two adults. A nearby recliner lays flat for sleeping and has a glider feature for soothing patients and siblings.
Each family zone also includes a TV for the family and lights that can be controlled separately from other lights in the room and a locking storage cabinet. Each room has a separate refrigerator for storing breastmilk. This refrigerator is convenient for families and ensures quick access to milk when needed. For infection control, every room has a sink dedicated to washing breast pumping supplies. There is a place for drying supplies, such as breast pump accessories. The footwall included a large surface for displaying photos and scrapbook pages documenting each baby’s journey. When not covered with photos, the wall displays a colorful scene of the Iowa landscape.
Rooms are the same handed in design, meaning that the room layout is identical in every patient room on this level. As a result, beds will never share a common wall, cutting down on noise transfer between rooms. The layout improves staff efficiencies and patient safety so staff can focus more readily on patients.
The family zone is designed to meet the special needs of families with babies. Each room has a separate refrigerator for storing breastmilk. This refrigerator is convenient for families and ensures quick access to milk when needed. For infection control, every room has a sink dedicated to washing breast pumping supplies. There is a place for drying supplies, such as breast pump accessories. The footwall included a large surface for displaying photos and scrapbook pages documenting each baby’s journey. When not covered with photos, the wall displays a colorful scene of the Iowa landscape.
We know that families of NICU patients have special needs. They often stay in the hospital for a long time and have young siblings with them. To make families’ stays more comfortable, Level 6 offers many special amenities.
- Family Activity Room
- Laundry Room
- Family Lounge/Respite Room
- Vending Machines
Families of NICU babies will want to check out our Safety Store. Located in the Gerdin Family Lobby, it offers discounts on sleep sacks used for putting babies safely to sleep on their backs. It carries car seats, in-home safety items, and educational resources for families. By appointment the Safety Store’s car seat technicians help new parents properly install safety seats in their vehicles..