IU Health West nurses provide “special care” for newborns in need

Written by Emma Avila, epackard1@iuhealth.org, writer for IU Health's Indianapolis Suburban Region

The Special Care Nursery at IU Health West is a level-two NICU staffed by a highly experienced, compassionate team of healthcare professionals who provide expert, round-the-clock care for newborns with specialized health needs.

It takes a special kind of person to provide medical care to sick babies. In the Special Care Nursery at IU Health West, there is an entire team of them.

The Special Care Nursery is a level-two neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with twenty highly trained, dedicated nurses, who staff the unit around the clock. The team provides expert care to newborns who need specialized treatment.

“Pre-maturity and respiratory issues, those are the main things we see,” says Amy Monnett, a registered nurse who has worked on the unit for 15 years. “But we see a variety of health issues. We’re all experienced, and we give individualized care.”

The team consists of nurses with an average of 21 years of NICU experience. When they are hired on, regardless of their previous experience, nurses undergo a 13-week orientation process.

Rita Wilson, shift coordinator and registered nurse, has been on the unit since the hospital opened in 2004.

“I was here that first shift for that first baby,” she says. “We had three beds then. Now, we have 11.”

Special care nurses will also be in the delivery room if health complications are expected after birth.

“You’re first on. You have to be able to do that initial assessment. You really have to have experience because you have to be able to see these little nuances,” adds Monica Klein, who came to IU Health West five years ago after working at Riley Hospital for Children since 1991.

The IU Health West Special Care Nursery is staffed 24/7 by in-house Riley Children’s Health pediatricians. The nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists and other team members work together to make sure each baby is getting the care they need.

“A big draw to this unit for me was having in-house, 24/7 pediatricians,” Monnett says. “Our unit is also like a unicorn. This group that we work in, they are my support system. It’s like a family.”

“When you have happy people working together, you give better care,” adds Klein. “And we’ve even heard that from families.”

The family-level bond between team members extends to the patients and their families. The team has multiple families who keep them up to date on the growth of the babies the team cared for on the unit.

“I feel good about what I do when I go home,” Wilson says. “I love who I take care of, who I work beside.”

To learn more about Maternity Services offered at IU Health, visit iuhealth.org/maternity.