NICU

Evidence-based hospital referral (EHR) means making sure that patients with high-risk conditions are treated at hospitals with characteristics shown to be associated with better outcomes. EHR could be very effective at preventing unnecessary deaths.

Babies with very low birth weight or major congenital anomalies are much more likely to survive if they are delivered and treated at hospitals with large, neonatal intensive care units (NICU)¹. According to The Leapfrog Group , a "large" NICU is one with an average daily census of 15 or more infants. The average daily census at ACH far exceeds that expectation and is the largest tertiary care nursery in Arkansas with 85 beds and a capacity to care for more than 95 infants.

¹Phibbs, C.S., Bronstein, J.M