What’s New?

Level II nursery enhances service to Irmo community.

Prisma Health Baptist Parkridge Hospital added a Level II Special Care Nursery in the fall. The two-bed nursery will allow more babies with complications to remain at the hospital with their parents instead of being transferred to another Prisma Health facility. The hospital will continue to work closely with the two Columbia-based Level III (more advanced) NICUs at Prisma Health Baptist Hospital and Prisma Health Richland Hospital for babies that require a higher level of care.

New delivery rolls in at nine tons.

In December, team members, along with former patients and families, welcomed a new neonatal intensive care ambulance at Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital.

“This new ambulance is essentially a NICU on wheels, complete with specialty staff, to help us quickly and safely transport the Upstate’s most fragile infants,” said Michael Stewart, MD, medical director of the hospital’s Bryan Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the most advanced NICU in the Upstate.

The ambulance features a super-sized patient compartment capable of transporting twins in separate incubators (like the one above) along with specialty assessment and treatment equipment to treat these babies.

Nearly 180 babies – some weighing less than a pound – are transported here annually. The ambulance carries a specially trained team that includes a neonatal nurse, pediatric respiratory therapist and critical care paramedic. Babies can also receive care before transport by the neonatology team through a high-tech telehealth program called Delivery Buddy. The transport team routinely serves seven Upstate hospitals.

“We are so happy to have the new ambulance to facilitate Prisma Health Children’s Hospital–Upstate in providing the advanced care these fragile neonates need,” said Robin LaCroix, MD, the hospital’s medical director.