Banner Thunderbird Level III NICU turns one
GLENDALE, Ariz., (Oct. 17, 2009) - Lizette Rios was horrified when she learned she would deliver her baby boy at 25 weeks. She knew his chances for survival were slim but remembers how Banner Thunderbird Medical Center’s Level III NICU staff treated her on that difficult day.
“They were amazing people,” Rios said. “They never made us feel like Kolden did not have a chance. They had high hopes for him and said, ‘we’ll take care of him we will help you.’ Every step of the way we understood what was going on.”
A year later, Kolden Rios has grown from a tiny one-and-a-half pound baby into a healthy boy. The West Valley couple credits his good health to Banner Thunderbird’s professional, highly trained staff and their high tech, top-of-the-line neonatal intensive care unit.
Kolden is an example of the good work done every day at Banner Thunderbird Children’s Center and the hospital’s Level III NICU. This month Banner Thunderbird celebrates one year as a Level III NICU after the Arizona Perinatal Trust granted the facility its highest designation allowing Banner Thunderbird to take care of premature babies of all ages.
In its first year as a Level III NICU, Banner Thunderbird doctors and staff have treated more than 530 babies with 19 of them being less than 28 weeks of gestation. As the medical facility offering the highest level of care in the West Valley, 128 babies have been transferred to Banner Thunderbird’s NICU for care in the first year as well.
As the number of premature babies born to mothers across the nation and in Arizona continues to increase, this level of care is increasingly needed in the community.
Banner Health and Banner Thunderbird, recognized this level of care was missing from the West Valley and made it a priority to ensure the hospital not only had physicians, nurses and staff who are highly trained in newborn medicine, but technology to support this needed service.
After a year of serving the community with the Level III NICU, Banner Thunderbird’s Pediatrics and NICU Director Barbara Cabrera is happy to see the impact the service has made in the community.
“Until Banner Thunderbird opened its new NICU, high risk moms-to-be were not only faced with the uncertainty of their premature newborn’s health, but they had the added stress of traveling far from home to give their baby the best chance for a healthy life,” Cabrera said. “Now, thanks to the highly skilled and dedicated physicians, nurses and staff at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center, families can stay close to home, knowing that their tiny miracle is receiving the highest and most specialized level of care available.”
About Banner Thunderbird Medical Center
Banner Thunderbird Medical Center, part of Banner Health—a nonprofit health system with 22 hospitals throughout the West—is a 513-bed acute-care hospital featuring a behavioral health center, children’s center and dedicated outpatient center.
