Children’s Hospitals & Clinics Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
St. Paul, Minnesota
Owner:
Children’s Hospitals and Clinics
Architect:
BWBR Architects
Delivery Method:
Negotiated General Contractor
Size:
20,000 sq. ft.
Completion Date:
2003
Final Cost:
$5.7 Million
The new NICU was expanded from 40 to 50 beds and roughly doubled its size from 10,000 to 20,000 s.f. The project also included the relocation of the hospital’s 7,640 g.s.f. clinical care laboratory to the lower level.
180 sq. ft. private rooms, which allows parents to sleep with and care for their infant in the hospital, is a first for Children’s and also part of an emerging national trend. A private room is good for both parents and infants, with research showing that premature infants are very sensitive to light and noise, which can be easily controlled in a private room. Parental contact has also been shown to benefit the children.
Phase I, which included 29 patient rooms, was completed in May 2003; completion of Phase II, which included 21 additional rooms and a family lounge, was completed in September 2003. Through careful phasing of the project, the NICU remained in continuous operation throughout construction.