Richmond hospital adds 20 NICU beds to VCU’s Children Tower

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- A major children's hospital in Richmond has expanded its care for newborn babies by adding more Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) beds to its hospital.

On Wednesday, Jan. 14, the Children's Hospital of Richmond (CHoR) at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) expanded its neonatal care by adding 20 NICU beds to its intensive care unit at the Children's Tower.

These additional beds now bring the total number of NICU beds to 60 within the hospital.

“The care provided by the team in our CHoR NICU is unmatched in our region,” said Marlon Levy, senior vice president for VCU Health Sciences and CEO of VCU Health. “Our mission at VCU Health is to preserve and restore the health of all people, including our tiniest patients. With our 40-bed NICU continually at capacity, the need for this expansion to serve babies requiring critical, innovative medical care was evident – and we were honored to respond accordingly.”  

At CHoR, they offer a Level 4 NICU that provides care for premature and full-term infants who require urgent medical needs.

The services include heart and respiratory support, advanced imaging and on-site surgery for any medical need, according to the release.

One of the babies at CHoR was Lennox Crutchfield, who was micro preemies baby that weighed less than one pound when he was born after a 22-week and six-day pregnancy. He had to spend 143 days in the NICU, where he was monitored with intense care while growing. Now he is 3 years old and is living his life happily.

“As a regional referral center providing the highest level of neonatal critical care for the state of Virginia, our team’s responsibility extends to neonates not only born at VCU Medical Center, but from across the Commonwealth with the most complex medical conditions. This care requires the partnership of the skilled VCU Health high-risk obstetrical teams,” said Karen Hendricks-Muñoz, physician-in-chief of CHoR, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at VCU School of Medicine. “Whether for specialized procedures or ongoing care, our neonatal transport team brings infants who have delivered at other hospitals by ground or air 24/7 for the expertise of our specialists.”

The NICU within the Children's Hospital includes 16 single and two twin rooms that are some of the biggest in the country. Each room includes a sleeping area, breastmilk storage and private bathrooms for the family.

Other amenities in the Children's Tower include:

• Lounge and quiet room
• In-hospital Ronald McDonald House
• Multifaith chapel
• Free parking
• Family-friendly cafeteria
• For siblings, a Teammates for Kids Child Life Zone

“Shortly after opening the Children’s Tower in April 2023, it became clear that our community needed greater access to neonatal care of the highest level,” said Elias Neujahr, CHoR president. “We earmarked a portion of the unfinished shell space for the NICU, and I could not be more thrilled to celebrate its completion today. With the latest technologies and special touches bringing comfort to families, we are ready to welcome our first patients on January 31 – and thousands more after that.”