RICHMOND, Va. β The Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU unveiled a new $28 million neonatal intensive care unit Wednesday, adding 20 beds to help care for the region's most vulnerable patients.
The expansion comes as the hospital's existing 40-bed NICU sometimes reaches capacity. VCU is home to the region's only level four NICU, which provides the highest level of care for critically ill newborns.
"Today, to me, is more than just opening a new space. It marks the expansion of our level four NICU that Dr. Levy talked about, this is the only level four NICU in our region," Physican-in-chief Dr. Karen Hendricks-MuΓ±oz said.
The ribbon cutting ceremony featured emotional stories from families whose babies received life-saving care at VCU, including Shenisha Crutchfield and her 3-year-old son Lennox.
Crutchfield gave birth to Lennox at just 22 weeks of pregnancy, four months premature.
"I was 22 weeks pregnant, just cleaning the house and again, just getting ready for bed. I went to the bathroom, felt myself pushing," Crutchfield said.
Lennox spent months fighting for his life in VCU's NICU after his premature birth over three years ago.
"I didn't know if he was gonna make it from day to day, you know. And then he coded twice in my presence. It's like, I don't think you know, I'm preparing myself for the worst," Crutchfield said.
Now a thriving 3-year-old, Lennox represents the kind of success story the expanded NICU hopes to create for more families.
Among the speakers at Wednesday's ceremony was a physician assistant who was once a NICU patient himself.
"It is extremely humbling and an honor to be caring for patients here now, walking back onto this unit as a clinician where I was once a patient," he said.
The physician assistant was born at 32 weeks and weighed just over five pounds, diagnosed with bronchopulmonary dysplasia due to underdeveloped lungs.
"I was able to lead a normal childhood and grow up without many complications," he said.
Rao said the expansion represents a 17-year goal finally coming to fruition.
"This is one of the big things that we said we wanted to do 17 years ago, and now it's done, and I'm kind of taking it. I really appreciate all of you making this happen," Rao said.
For Crutchfield, the new facility represents hope for other families facing similar challenges.
"Just thinking back and looking back on it, it's like, we made it. We made it. It's happy tears, we made it," Crutchfield said.
The new NICU unit will open its doors on Jan. 31.
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