Infant Intensive Care

The IICP grant has been in existence and continuously since 1976. The program has supported the bringing of complex intensive care technologies to the University Hospital and its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The grant funding has provided supplemental support for specialized intensive care services for sick newborn infants from throughout Eastern Kentucky. The IICP has four basic components: Outreach Education; In-patient hospital care; Sick infant transport; and, Clinic services for post discharge neuro-developmental assessment. Outreach education for 2011 provided 49 classes for 527 health care providers throughout the many counties of Eastern Kentucky. The in-patient service of the neonatal intensive care unit admitted 743 sick infants, of which survival was 94%. Of the 743 NICU admissions, 390 were transported by a team of specially trained nurse practitioners in by either ambulance or helicopter. Finally, the post discharge neurodevelopment assessments totaled 73 clinic days and 720 infants were seen in follow up with referral back to their ‘medical homes’ and primary care providers.