‘Too many babies here, not enough room for them’: Children’s Hospital of Richmond is expanding to treat more sick babies

RICHMOND, Vs. (WRIC) -- The Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU will soon be able to help care for more of Richmond's youngest patients.

Just days after the Children's Tower's second birthday, the healthcare system announced it is expanding its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

VCU Health representatives told 8News that the medical center developed its Children's Tower, which went up in 2023, with a vision of expansion. 8News spoke with Dr. Jenny Fox with the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU (CHoR) to learn more.

Dr. Fox told our team this expansion will be a gamechanger for babies and their families across our region.

"If we are having to go on diversion because we have too many babies here and not enough room for them, then some of these babies are going further north or further south, several hours away to get that care," Dr. Fox explained. "And that makes a huge impact on their outcome."

According to healthcare professionals, when it comes to caring for Richmond's most vulnerable, timing can be everything.

CHoR tries to take in as many patients as they can, but health experts explained that the number of sick babies has continued to climb at the facility each year and there isn't always enough space to accommodate new patients -- which means they are diverted to open, but farther away medical rooms.

"Some of these babies are going further north or further south, several hours away to get that care," Dr. Fox said. "And that makes a huge impact on their outcome."

The facility's NICU can currently hold about 40 patients, but in 2026, this wave of expansion will be complete with a additional 20 NICU beds and overall more space.

"We have all of these different subspecialists that are able to help manage care of our patients that many of our surrounding hospitals don't provide," Fox shared.

She explained how babies in need of higher levels of care are often sent to CHoR.

The doctor added that this physical expansion also comes with an increase in staffing. In the past ten years, teams has gone from 3 or 4 attendings, or senior-level doctors, to 12. The number one priority — is getting more babies the urgent care they need.

"We have a more diverse team," Fox said. "We've got team members from different training hospitals, so we have more insight, more ideas, which I think is really great. When you have a team to have lots of different perspectives to allow you to grow and to be better."

While the estimated completion date could fluctuate, CHoR representatives told 8News the health system currently expects the expanded NICU unit to open in January 2026.