The University of Southern California Verdugo Hills Hospital (USC-VHH) opened the doors to its new neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The 3,100-square-foot, level II NICU is composed of six private suites, each one equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment and 24-hour webcam access to the baby’s incubator on a secured, private server. The suites are also large enough to accommodate a bed in the event a family member would like to stay overnight with the baby.
“We strive to offer world-class, family-centric care to everyone who chooses to deliver their baby at our hospital,” said Keith Hobbs, chief executive officer of USC-VHH. “The NICU is designed to maintain those standards for families that require additional, more complex care, and we are thrilled to open this service to growing families in our community.”
The NICU is capable of caring for babies as young as 32 weeks of gestation, offering a setting for high-risk pregnancies to be carried out as safely as possible. The facility features a designated lactation area and top-of-the-line technology. Expert neonatologists, registered nurses, respiratory therapists and technicians tend to the unit’s vulnerable arrivals until they are ready to begin their lives at home.

USC-VHH began building the NICU in 2016 as part of a comprehensive update of its maternal and newborn care. The hospital’s labor and delivery services include several classes and support groups covering topics such as early pregnancy education, infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation and safety, babysitting and sibling education for children expecting a new baby brother or sister. Future parents considering USC-VHH to deliver their baby can call (818) 790-7100 or visit uscvhh.org.
About USC Verdugo Hills Hospital
USC Verdugo Hills Hospital is part of Keck Medicine of USC, the University of Southern California’s medical enterprise, one of only two university-owned academic medical centers in the Los Angeles area. USC Verdugo Hills Hospital’s services include a 24-hour emergency room staffed by USC faculty physicians; a primary stroke center; bariatric and minimally invasive surgery; OB-GYN and infant services; orthopaedic surgery; occupational, physical and speech therapy; cardiac rehabilitation; and imaging and diagnostic services, including mammograms, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), CT scans and angiograms. The hospital was established in 1972 and has served for more than 40 years as an independent, 158-licensed bed acute care hospital serving patients in the cities of Glendale and La Cañada Flintridge, as well as the surrounding Foothill communities of Southern California.
For more information, go to uscvhh.org

