Tacoma General Birth Center Unit Preview

Sherry Olfason, RN, describes what the work is like for the nurses at the Birth Center at Tacoma General Hospital. Both the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and the Family Birth Center are connected to MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital, southwest Washington's only pediatric hospital. The Washington State Department of Health recently designated the NICU at MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital as a Level IV regional NICU, the highest level of care available for critically ill newborns. Tacoma General is the only hospital in the South Sound with this designation and the only hospital that can treat babies who need unique or rarely performed medical or surgical procedures. It operates the area's largest NICU, with 40 Level IV NICU beds and 30 Level II Special Care Nursery beds.