NewYork-Presbyterian. The University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell.

Clinical Services at The Allen Hospital

Neonatology

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Neonatology at The Allen Hospital

The Department of Neonatology at The Allen Hospital is compromised of neonatologists, neonatal nurses, pediatricians and neonatology fellows who provide care to infants in our Well Baby and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurseries.

While most of the 2,400 babies delivered each year at The Allen Hospital stay with their mothers in the Hospital's Well Baby Nursery, premature infants or those who have respiratory distress, jaundice, blood sugar problems, or other difficulties are cared for in the more advanced care Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Nursery. In the NICU, neonatologists and neonatology fellows are present at all times, ensuring that high-risk newborns receive the specialty care that they need. A board-certified pediatrician is also present to provide services to newborns in either nursery.

Special services offered include:

• Developmentally appropriate care of growing premature infants
• Physical and occupational therapy
• A breastfeeding room and lactation support service
• Nasal CPAP for oxygen delivery
• Short-term mechanical ventilation
• Tube or oral feeding
• Phototherapy for jaundice treatment

Infants requiring care beyond The Allen Hospital's NICU Nursery are transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian in nearby Washington Heights. The Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital is ranked among the ten best children's hospitals in the nation by US News and World Report.

Family-Centered Care

The Department of Neonatology at The Allen Hospital promotes family-centered care whenever possible. Breastfeeding and "rooming in" & a practice where parents stay with their newborn & are encouraged in the Newborn Nursery. Family members are also issued hospital photo ID to facilitate secure access to the post-partum floor. Security in this section of the Hospital is especially strict. The area is secured with a state-of-the-art wireless alarm system where an alarm will sound if a newborn is carried beyond certain limits.

Once they are discharged, infants are followed by the pediatrician of their parents' choice or are assigned to a pediatrician in one of NewYork-Presbyterian's Ambulatory Network Clinics.

About Our Physicians

Neonatologists at The Allen Hospital also serve on the staff of New York-Presbyterian/Columbia, one of the country's major medical centers, and are on the faculty of the highly regarded Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. This means that patients at The Allen Hospital experience a level of care found in a leading academic medical center while they are being treated in the intimate setting of a community hospital. Because our physicians are affiliated with New York-Presbyterian/Columbia, our patients also have access to Columbia's advanced equipment if needed.

Our Physicians

• Francis A. Akita, MD (Chief of Service)
• Jennifer M. Duchon, MD
• Caroline S. Sibblies, MD