Special Care Nursery
Count on UNC Health Nash in Rocky Mount, North Carolina to provide close medical monitoring and specialized treatment if your newborn needs it. Rest assured the compassionate, highly skilled neonatal care team at the Nash Special Care Nursery will give your baby the best care possible.
Family-Centered Environment
You’ll appreciate the strong family-oriented care environment at our Special Care Nursery. Involve yourself in the care of your infant from the time of birth until going home. Rely on our kind, helpful nurses to keep you up-to-date and answer your questions. Ask about your infant’s care anytime. Our nurses have much experience working with families like yours.
Specialized Care for Your Baby
Benefit from customized care for babies born prematurely or with health issues that need special attention. You’ll find comprehensive care for:
- Newborn babies born prematurely from 32 weeks gestation and up
- Infants with breathing problems or suspected infections at birth
- Very premature infants transferred in from another neonatal intensive care unit to recover closer to home
Expert Care Team
Your newborn will receive care from our specialists who hold advanced training in caring for infants. This team focuses on reviving and stabilizing critically ill babies and managing common newborn conditions. Your neonatal care team may include:
- Board-certified neonatologists
- Nurse practitioners
- Neonatal nurses
Private Rooms With Continuous Monitoring
Take advantage of the 12 private rooms at the Nash Special Care Nursery to spend time with your baby. You won’t find individual special care nursery rooms at other hospitals in eastern North Carolina. The room has advanced technology for your baby’s comfort, health, and safety.
Continuous Monitoring of your baby is always available because our special care nursery has central monitoring technology at the nurses station that alert your baby’s nurses to respond to any changes.
Room Conveniences for You
During this difficult time, we want to ease your worries. Spend 24 hours a day or as much time as you can bonding with your new baby at the Special Care Nursery. Look for room amenities that provide your family with personal conveniences, including:
- Sleeping accommodations
- Personal bathroom and shower
- TV
- Windows and doors for privacy
A kitchen is available on the unit, or we can arrange three meals a day for you during your stay.
Safety & Privacy
Depend on our advanced infant security and monitoring system at the Special Care Nursery to protect your baby. The locked nursery, security badges, and four-band identification system for babies ensure your newborn’s safety. We keep your infant’s health information confidential and update only you and individuals you choose about your infant’s health.
Special Care Nursery Guidelines
The Special Care Nursery guidelines keep your little one safe and growing stronger. While you are in the nursery, please follow all the guidelines.
Guidelines
- Everyday germs can be harmful to your baby. Before entering the Special Care Nursery, you must perform a one-minute soap and water scrub on hands and arms (up to elbows), and put on a gown to decrease the chance of infection while holding your infant.
- Always be mindful of touching your face, hair, clothing, pocketbook, or any other potentially dirty surface when you are in the Special Care Nursery. Wash your hands frequently—and always after coughing, sneezing, or changing a diaper.
- Our Special Care Nursery infants need quiet. We only allow three visitors at a bedside at one time. Others are welcome to wait quietly in the waiting room.
- Only siblings and children three years of age and older can visit the Special Care Nursery with an adult. If you want a child to visit, talk with your nurse about allowing access. All visitors under 16 must be current on their vaccinations before entering the Special Care Nursery.
- Any visitors, including siblings with any signs of illness or exposure to illness, should not visit.
- Visitation guidelines may be impacted by seasonal community illnesses. Please contact the front desk for visitation guidelines.
- Confidentiality is important. Please do not wander around the Special Care Nursery, look at, or touch other infants while you are in the facility.
- Our knowledgeable nursing staff is always available if you have questions about your baby. We also encourage attending daily bedside shift reports, at 6:45 a.m. and 6:45 p.m., to talk about your baby’s status with the nurse.
- Keep your mobile device on vibrate or silent while in the nursery.
- You can bring a camera to take pictures of your baby. For privacy reasons, don’t take photos of other babies in the nursery.
Items You Can’t Bring to the Special Care Nursery
Some things aren’t allowed in the Special Care Nursery, such as:
- Watches or jewelry (except wedding bands)
- Large or bulky crafts
- Outside food prohibited in patient rooms
- Video cameras
- Tobacco and vapor/e-cigarettes
Location
The Special Care Nursery is adjacent to the Mother-Baby units in the Nash Women’s Center.
