Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

In Your Words: Boenker Family

For more than 100 years, Cook Children's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) has cared for newborns and infants with complex and rare medical conditions. Our brilliant team of highly trained neonatology specialists is at the forefront of the most advanced treatment for newborn babies. We are nationally recognized for our exceptional care and excellent outcomes.

Why choose Cook Children's for NICU care?

Our team at Cook Children's is here to treat the child who matters most in the world: yours. We offer personalized care for newborn babies diagnosed with complicated medical conditions. We also help you learn what to expect if your baby was diagnosed with a condition during pregnancy that will require NICU care, or if you're at risk of a preterm birth.

Our neonatal intensive care unit offers:

The highest level of NICU care in Ft. Worth and Tarrant County
Advanced, innovative therapies and treatments for rare neonatal conditions
Single-patient neonatal care rooms so parents have more privacy and can take a more active role in caring for their newborn
The latest technology that allows us to monitor your baby at all times and keep them safe
Nurse-to-patient ratios that ensure someone is always there when your child needs us

Highly trained neonatal staff

The Cook Children's NICU team of highly trained physicians, surgeons and nurses specialize in newborn (neonatal) care. Our physicians have additional training beyond pediatrics in the subspecialty field of neonatology. Our care team has specialized protocols in place to treat babies born early or full-term, including:

Micro preemies: 26 weeks or earlier
Preemies: 27 to 36 weeks
Newborns: 37 to 42 weeks

Continuing care beyond the NICU

Our entire team of neonatal doctors and surgical experts is available from the moment your baby arrives at Cook Children's. We admit hundreds of babies each year with all types of conditions, including:

Brain and neurological conditions
Breathing problems
Blood disorders
Genetic syndromes
Heart defects
Hyperinsulinism
Metabolic disorders
Kidney disease

When your child is ready to leave the NICU, we can connect you with our extensive network of children's care providers. Cook Children's offers primary care pediatricians, nationally and internationally recognized specialists, urgent care and home health services. Plus, we can connect you with support services, our health insurance program and other assistance for you and your baby.

Award-winning Teddy Bear Transport

Cook Children's is a regional referral center for all of Tarrant County and North Texas. We also accept patients from throughout the state of Texas and neighboring states like Oklahoma and Louisiana.

Our award-winning transport system brings in babies from other health care systems or NICUs. Every year we accept more than 3,000 transfers at our medical center. We can bring medically fragile patients from thousands of miles away with a fleet of specially equipped vehicles, including:

King Air B200 critical care transport airplane
American Eurocopter 145 helicopter
Cessna Citation Encore+ jet
Five ambulances

Partnering with families for better care

Family members are an important part of our care team. We work closely with parents and families to keep you informed and engaged throughout your child's care. Our team will explain all the care options so you can make informed decisions during your baby's NICU stay.

We offer a unique setup with single-patient rooms for all our NICU families. This allows parents to be more involved in the day-to-day care of their newborn in the NICU.

Cook Children's is the only NICU in Tarrant County to provide single-patient rooms. Our NICU includes 99 rooms and 106 beds to provide the full spectrum of specialized, intensive care services for newborns and infants. We even have rooms available for multiple babies to stay together—twins, triplets and quadruplets.

The latest technology and nationally recognized NICU care

Treating medically complex newborns and premature babies requires special equipment. Cook Children's has all the latest technology to provide optimal medical interventions. We are one of only a few NICUs in the region with advanced technologies like:

ECMO advanced life support
Neonatal imaging
Real-time digital monitoring devices
Real-time heart rate observation (HeRO)

Nurses wear communication devices to stay in constant contact with your baby's monitoring systems. Your nurse and the charge nurse get immediate updates if your baby needs attention.

We also participate in clinical trials to advance neonatal care. Our team stays up to date on all the research-based treatments for critically ill babies. Our research improves care quality, safety and technology.