Department of Pediatrics
Department of Pediatrics
The Department of Pediatrics

Neonatology Clinical Services

The Neonatology Division at the University of Texas Houston Medical School, in affiliation with Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital and LBJ General Hospital, provides care for newborns with complex medical and surgical problems.


Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital

The Neonatology Division at the University of Texas Houston Medical School has been affiliated with Hermann Hospital in providing care for newborns with complex medical and surgical problems since 1970. In August 1999, we moved into new NICU facilities at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital. In April 2008, a new Level 2 unit was opened on the floor above the existing NICU. There are approximately 5,000 deliveries per year at Memorial Hermann Hospital of which 25-30% are high-risk pregnancies. A very active referral service for women with high-risk pregnancies and a very busy neonatal transport system result in a relatively high proportion of VLBW admissions. There are 1,100-1,200 admissions to the NICU per year; approximately one third are outborn. Our patients benefit from a full spectrum of pediatric medical and surgical subspecialty and transport services available at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital. The UT-Houston neonatologists coordinate antepartum care for high-risk pregnancies with the Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialists at the Medical School. A multidisciplinary Texas Center for Maternal and Fetal Treatment has been established for antepartum evaluation and counseling of pregnancies complicated by congenital anomalies.

The recently expanded Intensive Care Nursery at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital has 118 medical/surgical beds overall with 80 intensive care beds and 38 intermediate care beds. In addition to pediatric housestaff and neonatal nurse practitioners, the unit is staffed 24 hours a day with a neonatology faculty member or fellow. The following subspecialty services are provided:

Medical

  • Pediatric Allergy/Immunology
  • Pediatric Cardiology
  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Pediatric Gastroenterology
  • Pediatric Genetics/Metabolism
  • Pediatric Hematology
  • Pediatric Infectious Diseases
  • Pediatric Nephrology
  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Pediatric Pulmonology
  • Pediatric Radiology
  • Pediatric Rheumatology

Surgical

  • Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery
  • Pediatric General Surgery
  • Pediatric Craniofacial Surgery
  • Pediatric Neurological Surgery
  • Pediatric Ophthalmology
  • Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology
  • Pediatric Urology

Additional NICU Services

  • ECMO
  • Hypothermia for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
  • Lactation specialists
  • Neonatal nutrition support team
  • Neonatal clinical pharmacist
  • Nitric oxide and high frequency ventilation
  • Renal dialysis

Consultation/Transport

Neonatology consultation by telephone is provided 24 hours a day. A phone call to (713) 704-2500 or (800) 392-5433 will access telephone consultation with the faculty neonatologist on call at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital. Transports are staffed by specially trained neonatal transport nurses and when necessary, by a faculty member or fellow.  Our Transport Team operates in close collaboration with Memorial Hermann Life Flight, so that arrangements can be made for transport by air or ground, as appropriate.

Family Accommodations

Facilities for our NICU patients' families include breastfeeding rooms, isolation rooms, overnight rooms for parents pre-discharge and the Ronald McDonald House for parents of hospitalized infants. The new Level 2 unit has all private patients room with accomodations for the parents to stay in the infant's room.

Contact Information

  • The University of Texas Medical School at Houston
    Neonatology Academic Offices
    Department of Pediatrics
    6431 Fannin, Suite 3.242
    Houston, TX 77030
    Telephone: 713-500-5733
    Fax: 713-500-5794
  • Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital NICU
    6411 Fannin
    Houston, TX 77030
    Telephone: 713-704-2900
    Fax: 713-704-3834
  • Consultation/Referrals/Transports
    713-704-2500 or 800-392-5433 (answered 24 hours a day)