Texas Children's The Woodlands in April announced it had received a Level IV designation for its NICU, the highest level awarded by the Texas Department of State Health Services. The hospital is now the only facility in The Woodlands area with this designation.
In The Woodlands area, three hospitals have Level III NICUs: Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital, Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center and St. Luke's Health-The Woodlands, which provide services to mothers and infants of all gestational ages with mild to critical illnesses.
The percentage of infants who are admitted to a NICU was 9.7% in Texas as of 2023, an increase from 8.5% in 2016, according to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nationwide, the percentage of infants admitted to a NICU was 9.8%, according to the CDC.
"There is a tremendous amount of research looking into causes of preterm birth as it is complex with many biologic and environmental factors," said Dr. Kristine Reyes, neonatologist with Texas Children's The Woodlands. "I don’t think we can fully explain why are seeing an increase in the preterm birth rate. The rise in average maternal age as well as the increase in people having children through IVF could be factors, but I think that is only a part of a much bigger picture."
What's new
In addition to providing an advanced level of care, with staff available to respond to a wide range of critical and complex illnesses, the Texas Children's NICU has several other new features, such as remote camera access for parents, officials said.
"This allows families to have access to a live-stream video so they can see their babies in real time when they are not at the bedside," Reyes said. "It helps improve family bonding and hopefully decreases the stress and anxiety of having a baby in the NICU especially if they are here long term."
The NICU is also the pilot site for a formula scanning program intended to enhance safety in ordering, preparing and delivering formula, she said.
In fiscal year 2023-24, Reyes said the hospital cared for 225 patients in its NICU, and for FY 2024-25 it has seen a 10% increase in its overall admission rate since being designated a Level IV NICU. The hospital has eight full-time neonatalists, five neonatal nurse practitioners and 40 NICU nurses.
Meanwhile, among other facilities offering Level III NICU care, Director of Women's Services Judy Brown with St. Luke's Health-The Woodlands said the facility works with Texas Children's and other area hospitals to provide hyperlocal care for families and infants.
"The goal is to keep the babies in our community and prevent the families from having to go downtown," Brown said.
More details
As the next-closest Level IV NICU is in the Texas Medical Center, Dr. Reyes said the designation provides an option for families north of Houston.
"Having a Level IV NICU in the Woodlands allows families in our community to have access to specialized care close to home," Reyes said.
However, the designation is not one needed by multiple hospitals in a region, said Dr. Madhulika Kulkarni, a neonatalist with St. Luke's Health-The Woodlands. That NICU was redesignated Level III as of April, and Brown said St. Luke's would not seek the higher designation because a region only needs one Level IV center due to the variety of specialties and resources needed.
"The goal ... is that babies can get care at the right place at the right time, and if they can stay in their communities for that, then they should be able to rather than every baby going to the [Texas Medical Center] for their care."
St. Luke's was first designated a Level III facility in 2022.
What you need to know
The four NICU designations are:
Level I: newborn nursery that can care for mothers and infants at 35-plus weeks of gestation with routine prenatal problems
Level II: specialty care nursery that can care for mothers and infants at 32-plus weeks of gesttation with problems to be resolved rapidly
Level III: neonatal intensive care unit that can care for mothers and infants of all gestational ages with mild to critical illnesses
Level IV: advanced NICU that can care for mothers and infants of all gestational ages as well as the most complex, critically ill infants
