The city's first seamlessly integrated Level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the Driscoll Children’s Hospital Neonatal Care Center, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, February 28, 2023.

Operating within CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi – South, Driscoll’s Neonatal Care Center is a 24-bed NICU providing critical medical care for premature, sick, and critically ill infants in the same place where they were born, close to their mother. The innovative collaboration provides the highest level of comprehensive care for both mothers and newborns.

The integrated NICU is a tremendous benefit to both mother and child. Mothers will no longer have to leave the hospital where they gave birth to be near their medically vulnerable newborn. Critically ill infants will be cared for in a Neonatal Care Center designed for them.

Infants with more complex medical or surgical needs have seamless access to the Driscoll Children’s Hospital Level IV NICU, which offers the highest level of care available and is the only Level IV NICU in South Texas. Newborns admitted to any Driscoll NICUs have a dedicated team of available specialists to meet their unique healthcare needs, ensuring they receive the best possible care.

The need to have immediate access to specially trained medical staff and equipment is critical to giving vulnerable infants the strongest possible chance at a healthy outcome. Built with state-of-the-art equipment, the Driscoll Children’s Hospital Neonatal Care Center is an ideal addition to the maternal care offered at CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi – South, itself a Level IV Maternal Care facility.

“Our Level IV Maternal Designation provides the highest level of care for high-risk patients, which provides comfort to both expectant and new moms knowing they are receiving the very best maternal care in South Texas,” said LaNell Scott, MSN, RN, NE-BC, President of CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi – South.

“This has been our vision from the start – to create an integrated system of care that does more for children from the moment of their first breath. The opening of the Driscoll Neonatal Care Center is a significant step forward in our promise to provide more care for more kids,” said Eric Hamon, President and CEO of Driscoll Health System. “Today those promises to our region have become reality, thanks to the generous support of donors.”

The Center was made possible, in part, by a $1M contribution from the Driscoll Development Foundation and its supporters.