Newborn babies requiring critical care have gained a big ally in the William, Jeff and Jennifer Gross Foundation. Formed by asset manager Bill Gross, his son and daughter, the foundation today donated $2 million to CHOC’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) on its main campus in Orange. The recent gift rounds the Foundation’s support of CHOC’s neonatal services to $7 million in the past 12 months.
Many hospitals offer intensive care units but only a select few are rated by the American Academy of Pediatrics as Level 4 – the highest rating available – and even fewer are ranked among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report. CHOC’s program features three NICUs, a team of board-certified neonatologists and special units for the smallest preemies, infants who need complex surgery, and babies who have neurological and cardiac concerns.
“CHOC’s neonatal services are unlike anything else offered on the West Coast, providing the highest levels of care and tremendous hope to families in the region. We are honored to continue our commitment to CHOC and the care of newborn babies,” says Jeff Gross.
Two years ago, CHOC expanded neonatal services on its main campus with the opening of a new NICU. Located in the Bill Holmes Tower, the 25,000-square-foot unit features 36 private rooms in a homey atmosphere with family sleeping quarters and storage spaces outfitted in warm colors and wooden accents to help parents feel more comfortable. Private NICU rooms are a new standard for improved patient outcomes. Benefits for babies include higher weight at discharge and more rapid weight gain. Also, they require fewer medical procedures and experience less stress, lethargy and pain. Researchers attribute these findings to increased maternal involvement.
CHOC’s NICUs include the 91-bed unit on its main campus, a 13-bed unit at St. Joseph Hospital and a 22-bed NICU at CHOC at Mission Hospital.
