Our NICU

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is 35,000 square feet located on the 5th floor of University Hospital. With the completion of our NICU expansion, we can now accommodate 58 babies. Over 3,000 newborns are admitted annually to University Hospital, including 700 admissions to the NICU. University Hospital has been designated as a Level IV neonatal intensive care unit by the Texas Department of State Health Services. Level IV signifies the highest level of care available for premature and very sick babies.  The American Academy of Pediatrics surveyed our NICU and found no deficiencies for the level IV NICU designation.  Additionally, our hospital is San Antonio’s only health system recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of America’s Best Hospitals.

Our State-of-the-Art NICU

Premature babies are unique and require special care. University Hospital has a highly-skilled team of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals ready to provide you and your baby with expert medical care.

Our NICU Includes:

  • Neonatologists, doctors trained to care for premature and sick newborns, present in the hospital 24 hours per day
  • Neonatal transport team available 24/7
  • Neonatal ECMO, cardiac surgery, neonatal neurosurgery, and a wide range of pediatric surgical and clinical subspecialties
  • Dedicated NICU pharmacists
  • Exclusive neonatal dietary and nutrition team
  • Dedicated clinical laboratory technicians to track changes in your baby’s health status at any hour of the day or night
  • Neonatal therapy team, which includes physical, occupational, and speech therapists
  • Child life specialists
  • Dedicated lactation consultant and a breast pump depot
  • Respiratory therapists staffed around the clock
  • Specially trained staff for counseling, pastoral care, financial and travel assistance, and much more
  • Parent/infant rooms where parents can “room in” with their baby in anticipation of/prior to discharge
  • Baby Box University to provide education regarding safe sleep practices and to give newborn essentials and a safe sleep environment for your baby

We have unique programs in place to allow for video communication with your baby:

  • Angel Eye® Program.  When you can’t be with your baby in the NICU because you live outside San Antonio and can’t make frequent trips to the hospital, we are able to bring you the next-best thing: video communication with your infant. We are the only hospital in San Antonio to offer the unique program.  Angel Eye allows you to play an important role in your baby’s wellness even when you can’t be there.
  • Baby Chat Program. We also offer Baby Chat for mothers recovering after delivery who can’t get to the NICU. This technology allows you to see and hear your infant by using real time video and audio communication.  We help you feel like you’re at the NICU bedside even when you can’t be there in person.

After graduation from our NICU we have continued services to support you and your baby:

  • The mission of the PREMIEre Program is to ensure infants with complex medical conditions and developmental challenges due to prematurity, catastrophic illness at birth, or environmental factors are evaluated for growth, neurological, and developmental abnormalities in an intense care-coordinated  program with developmental testing, appropriate interventions, and family education.