Our state-of-the-art Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Palawan Medical Mission Group Multipurpose Hospital provides expert newborn care for premature and seriously ill babies and their families. Our outstanding team of pediatricians, expert nursing staff and other health professionals are dedicated to providing the best and most advanced care possible to newborns with critical and unique health challenges.
The Unit caters newborn babies that are less than the age of 28 day of life. It is subdivided into 2 major sections the IN-born: babies who are born inside the hospital and the OUT-born; babies who came from outside the hospital and also babies from general wards. Plus, another sub-section for babies that needs to be Isolated for particular reasons.
MISSION
To provide the highest quality care to all newborns and their families that is compassionate, quality, sustainable and skilled; alongside educating for future generations of health professionals, advancing knowledge of newborn science and care, and advocating for optimal health of newborns.
VISION
To be the leader in discovery and application of skilled and compassionate newborn and family care.
SERVICES OFFERED
1. The PMMGMPC NICU cares for babies:
• Who are extremely premature
• Have one or more major structural complications, serious inherited disorders, or life-threatening conditions
• The Full-term ill newborns
• The NICU working space and team are also prepared to accommodate and care for twins and multiple pregnancies.
2. Parents are the most important members of their baby’s care team. Because of this, we welcome parents 24 hours a day, every day of the year. With our assistance, parents are educated in techniques for caring for their babies and are encouraged to touch, hold, and feed them as much as possible. Our expert staff will also help parents identify the best ways they can help their babies recover, grow, and develop.
CARE TEAM
Even when you are in the best place with the best doctors, nurses, and other staff, we understand that a stay in The PMMGMPC NICU can be a very challenging time. Your newborn will receive individualized, specialty care from a dedicated team that will help your baby grow and thrive while in the hospital. This comprehensive team will guide you through your newborn’s stay, communicating and educating you about your baby’s progress, teaching you about our efforts to overcome medical challenges, and providing resources to educate and support you through this difficult time.
The primary members of your baby’s health care team include:
• Pediatrician: is a medical doctor working in the NICU who manages the care to our newborns. They were the one who diagnose and treat illness and disease and prescribe medication for patients.
• Registered Nurse: who specializes in the care of newborns will be assigned to care for your baby. Each baby has his or her primary team of nurses, though your baby and family will meet and work with many others.
• Registered Midwife/ Nursing Assistant: one of the members of care team who works to assist the mothers in breastfeeding, primarily provide routine newborn care to the patients.
SOME HIGHLIGHTS
Breast milk provides essential nutrients and other factors that protect against infection and offers other important benefits to your baby’s growth and development. Some babies are not ready to drink by mouth right after birth. The whole members of NICU staff are trained to be a lactation consultant who gives instructions to the mothers on pumping their breast milk and proper storage until their baby is ready to breastfeed. Inside the breastfeeding area our staff assist and teach mothers and babies with positioning and latching onto the breast.
Lactation Services in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Breast milk is the ideal nutrition for all babies and fosters optimal infant health, especially for the most preterm babies. Often referred to as “liquid gold,” it contains a unique combination of nutrients that are specific to the baby’s growth and development. The unique substances and living cells in breast milk help to fight off infection, build up the baby’s immune system and decrease their risk of later allergies. Breast milk is the equivalent to a wonderful medicine.
As members of Breastfeeding Committee of the hospital our NICU staff are certified lactation trainers by Department of Health. They bring many years of experience, not only in lactation, but also in caring for infants in the NICU. We, as Breastfeeding advocate are committed to ensuring that every baby has access to the best nutrition available, we strongly encourage all mothers to breast feed or provide pumped breast milk for their babies.
Even though most NICU babies aren’t ready to feed right away, we work closely with every mother to ensure successful breastfeeding—in the NICU and once your baby is at home. We take several approaches to optimize a mother’s chances of successfully breastfeeding.
The NICU team shows mothers how to begin pumping breast milk and storing it until their babies are ready to feed.
Once the baby is able to transition to the breast, the staff heads-on assist the baby and mother with positioning and latching onto the breast and address other feeding problems.
Upon discharge, we provide thorough health teaching about breastfeeding and care to the newborns until follow up with their respective physician and do referrals to other lactation groups when necessary.
EQUIPMENT AND MODALITIES
Our patients have an individualized plan of care and treatment depending on their conditions. The medical team works hand in hand in treating each patient with compassion and skills. With the use of modern technology our department are adapting high-end equipment’s to address the needs of the critically ill patients.
Available equipment’s in the department are:
• Mechanical Ventilator
• CPAP Machines
• Individualized Infusion pumps to regulate the IV fluids
• Various Phototherapy/Bili Lights
• Syringe pumps
• Cardiac Monitors
• Nebulizer
• Suction Machines
• Isolette/Incubators
• Bassinet
• Wall mounted Oxygen Source