Associated with a pandemic response to create additional private patient care, UNC Hospital’s Newborn Critical Care Center provides 22 additional patient rooms. The renovation creates a healing environment in an existing acute care patient footprint to provide a family-centered unit with in-rooming for extended and overnight stays. The unit’s two twins patient rooms support families of multiples in a single space to reduce additional stresses. As a part of the academic medical department, this unit is equipped to handle some of the sickest infants in the region with unique and complex care requirements. Throughout the unit there are three separate grouped nursing stations to provide close access to patient rooms while maintaining a team environment.

The patient rooms are situated on the sixth floor with exterior windows at each patient room to provide developmentally specific access to daylight. During the design process, the clinical teams were involved in investigating options for in-rooming couplet care with recovering mother and baby as a prototype for future expansion.

In an effort to promote overall community engagement and a family focused unit, the common entry features a gathering space with a Ronald McDonald Foundation supported food and beverage kiosk to maintain close access on the unit.