GLENDALE, Ariz. – October 29, 2007 – On Friday, October 26, 2007, construction began on what will become Banner Thunderbird Medical Center’s Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Currently, Banner Thunderbird has a 20-bed Level IIEQ NICU that provides intensive and intermediate care for babies born at, or above, 28 weeks gestation.  “The new Level III NICU will allow Banner Thunderbird to care for newborns of all sizes and ages of prematurity, increasing the quality of care available to the communities we serve,” says Bo Larsen, Director of Public Relations.  “The new Level III will provide care for newborns less than 28 weeks and will not require the hospital to transfer babies to other facilities for care.”

Level III nurseries provide the widest variety of advanced care available for all newborns.  Currently, there are three levels of nurseries across the United States (Levels I, II and III).  Regulated at the state level, only Level III has the life-saving treatments and technologies to care for the full gamut of patients—from normal to extremely ill.

Construction should be complete on the first phase of the project in April 2008.  The second phase of the NICU expansion will renovate the hospital’s current Level II EQ NICU into an 18-bed unit. The hospital will then apply for Level III status for these beds.

The NICU is staffed 24 hours per day by neonatologists and neonatal nurse practitioners. A full-time, developmental nurse is available to provide hands-on support to families at the bedside, as well as providing small group discharge teaching classes for parents and caregivers.

About Banner Thunderbird Medical Center - Banner Thunderbird Medical Center, part of Banner Health—a not-for-profit health system with 21 hospitals throughout the West—is a 374-bed acute-care hospital featuring a behavioral health center, children’s center and dedicated outpatient center located in Glendale, Arizona at 5555 West Thunderbird Road.  Banner Thunderbird is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.