Department of Pediatrics

NEONATOLOGY FELLOWSHIP FACILITY

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the University of Kentucky Children’s Hospital is a 50 Bed facility that provides care to sick newborns from within the University system and is the major referral center for Central and Eastern Kentucky. The NICU admits 700-800 infants per year for medical or surgical reasons, with 50% inborn and 50% referred from different hospitals in Eastern and Central Kentucky. Approximately 100 infants admitted per year weigh less than 1000 grams. The patient population provides an adequate volume of high-risk obstetrics, routine newborn disorders and rare diseases, as well as complex genetic anomalies. Services provided include conventional and high-frequency ventilation, nitric oxide therapy, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), and pre- and post-operative surgical care. The full complement of consulting services is available for complex cases. The University of Kentucky Hospital obstetrical unit is also a referral center for high-risk obstetrics, with approximately 2500 deliveries per year with as many as 40% high-risk pregnancies. The Maternal-Fetal Medicine faculty members work closely with the Neonatology faculty not only in the realm of clinical care but also in research endeavors.

Neonatal Fellows see patients in the NICU Graduate Clinic once or twice a month. It is located in an adjacent building with 6 examination rooms that can be used for physical, neurological or developmental assessment using standardized instruments such as the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. This assessment is currently being administered by a Psychologist faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics. The clinic provides developmental follow-up for ELBW and other at-risk infants. Post-hospital management of on-going medical problems, such as supplemental oxygen and monitors is also provided. The clinic is staffed by an attending Neonatologist, a Neonatal Nurse Practioner, Physical Therapist, Nutritionist, Psychologist and Social Services personnel. The developmental clinic also has an existing contract with the state to provide evaluation services for those premature infants at-risk for disabilities or in need of early intervention services.

Equipment and lab space is available in the Department of Pediatrics Core Laboratory for complex scientific experiments including immunofluorescence, cell cultures, cytokine analysis and small animal facilities. Arrangements can be made with other departments within the University and with outside collaborators. The Division of Neonatology has an ongoing relationship with the Center for Biomedical Engineering and the Departments of Physiology and Anatomy/ Neurobiology. The Medical Center Library provides access to over 1500 current journals and 3,500 total journals with over 125,000 volumes. On-line journals and an inter-library loan service are also available. The William T. Young Library, the main library facility for the University of Kentucky campus, is located near-by.