OLOL Children’s Hospital opens Level III Surgical NICU

The following information was provided by Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital opened its newest addition to pediatric service offerings on Dec. 8 - a Level III Surgical Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The 6,700 square foot space, known as Newton & Betsy Thomas Family Center for Newborn & Infant Intensive Care, has 10 rooms with 11 beds with one room having two beds for siblings.

“This Center provides destination care to newborns and infants that have surgical needs or complicated medical conditions that benefit from detailed pediatric specialty care,” said Trey Dunbar, MD, a neonatologist and president of Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Health. “A significant focus area for us centers on treating critically ill children of all ages, including newborns. Bringing NICU will impact critical care services for children across Louisiana.”

The Children’s Hospital NICU will have neonatologists, neonatal nurses, and respiratory therapists staffing the unit. The NICU team will be led by Elizabeth Lindsay, MD. Dr. Lindsay received her medical degree from the University of Texas – Houston Medical School. She completed a pediatric residency and a Fellowship in neonatology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. She is Board Certified in pediatrics and neonatal-perinatal medicine and has more than 15 years’ experience in caring for critically ill newborns.

“Our family is excited to partner with Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital to help ensure the highest level of comprehensive neonatal and infant care is always accessible to our local community and across our state. Today is just the beginning, and we look forward to witnessing the growth in advanced care offered to our area’s tiniest patients,” said the Thomas family.

Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital will not have a delivery center and instead most babies will be transported from across the region via our Pediatric Transport Team. Fully equipped with a specialized transport sled, our team has the capability to transport the most critically ill infants including those needing high frequency ventilation, whole body cooling and inhaled nitric oxide.

“We are deeply grateful to the Thomas family for their transformative investment in Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital,” said Ann Marie Marmande, president of Our Lady of the Lake Foundation. “As the first programmatic naming since opening the hospital, the family’s donation will grow the depth of care through immediate advancements and provide lasting resources to ensure the highest level of quality over time.”

For more information about the NICU at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital, visit ololchildrens.org/NICU.

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