Two Pint-sized former patients cut the ribbon on a new unit in the Newborn Critical Care Center at The North Carolina Children's Hospital in Chapel Hill today. A crowd of parents, children and staff were present for the opening of 'Pod G.' It adds 10 beds and brings the center's capacity to 58 beds. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Chapel Hill admits premature and ill babies from other hospitals in the state which are not equipped to deal with them. Chief of Pediatrics Dr. Alan Stiles says the addition will take pressure off the unit. It's been running close to capacity since it opened.
Alan Stiles: "Having ten more beds opens the option for us to both keep some patients a little bit longer who need to be here before we send them back to the hospital where they are at. Or it allows us to be able to get patients in, more importantly sooner, so that their care can take place at an earlier point."
The additional beds were funded by a grant from the state. The North Carolina Children's Hospital NICU is the largest in the state.
