Levels of Care Definitions

Level IV - Regional NICU

Capabilities - Level III capabilities plus:

• Located within an institution with the capability to provide surgical repair of complex congenital or acquired conditions
• Maintain a full range of pediatric medical subspecialists, pediatric surgical subspecialists, and pediatric anesthesiologists at the site
• Facilitate transport and provide outreach education

The Regional Perinatal Center is a facility housing a Level IV program and which provides all aspects of maternal and neonatal care and whose functions and responsibilities also include education, evaluation and data collection within that region. Strong Memorial Hospital is the designated Regional Perinatal Center for New York State Finger Lakes Region.

Level III - NICU

Capabilities - Level II capabilities plus:

• Provide sustained life support

• Provide comprehensive care for infants born <32 weeks gestation
  and weighing <1500 grams and infants born at all gestational ages
  and birth weights with critical illness
• Provide prompt and readily available access to a full range of pediatric medical subspecialists, pediatric surgical specialists, pediatric anesthesiologists, and pediatric ophthalmologists
• Provide a full range of respiratory support that may include  conventional and/or high-frequency ventilation and inhaled nitric oxide
• Perform advanced imaging, with interpretation on an urgent basis, including computed tomography, MRI, and echocardiography

Level II - Special Care Nursery

Capabilities - Level I capabilities plus:

• Provide care for infants born ≥32 weeks gestation and weighing ≥1500 grams who have physiologic immaturity or who are moderately ill with problems that are expected to resolve rapidly and are not anticipated to need subspecialty services on an urgent basis
• Provide care for infants convalescing after intensive care
• Provide mechanical ventilation for brief duration (<24 hours) or continuous positive airway pressure or both
• Stabilize infants born before 32 weeks gestation and weighing less than 1500 grams until transfer to a neonatal intensive care facility

Level I - Well Newborn Nursery

Capabilities

• Provide neonatal resuscitation at every delivery
• Evaluate and provide postnatal care to stable term newborn infants
• Stabilize and provide care for infants born between 35-37 weeks gestation who remain physiologically stable
• Stabilize newborn infants who are ill and those born at <35 weeks gestation until transfer to a higher facility