Department of Pediatrics
Department of Pediatrics
The Department of Pediatrics

Neonatology Clinical Services

The Neonatology Division at the University of Texas Houston Medical School, in affiliation with Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital and LBJ General Hospital, provides care for newborns with complex medical and surgical problems.


Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital

The Neonatology Division at the University of Texas Houston Medical School has been affiliated with Hermann Hospital in providing care for newborns with complex medical and surgical problems since 1970. In August 1999, we moved into new NICU facilities at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital. There are approximately 3,000 deliveries per year at Memorial Hermann Hospital of which 25-30% are high-risk pregnancies. A very active referral service for women with high-risk pregnancies and a very busy neonatal transport system result in a relatively high proportion of VLBW admissions. There are 900-1,000 admissions to the NICU per year; approximately one third are outborn. Our patients benefit from a full spectrum of pediatric medical and surgical subspecialty and transport services available at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital. The UT-Houston neonatologists coordinate antepartum care for high-risk pregnancies with the Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialists at the Medical School. A multidisciplinary Fetal Assessment Center has been established for antepartum evaluation and counseling of pregnancies complicated by congenital anomalies.

The Intensive Care Nursery at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital has 118 medical/surgical beds overall with 80 intensive care beds and 38 intermediate care beds. In addition to pediatric housestaff and neonatal nurse practitioners, the unit is staffed 24 hours a day with a neonatology faculty member or fellow. The following subspecialty services are provided:

Medical

  • Pediatric Cardiology
  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Pediatric Gastroenterology
  • Pediatric Genetics/Metabolism
  • Pediatric Hematology
  • Pediatric Infectious Diseases
  • Pediatric Nephrology
  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Pediatric Pulmonology
  • Pediatric Radiology

Surgical

  • Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery
  • Pediatric General Surgery
  • Pediatric Craniofacial Surgery
  • Pediatric Neurological Surgery
  • Pediatric Ophthalmology
  • Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology
  • Pediatric Urology

Additional NICU Services

  • ECMO
  • Hypothermia for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
  • Lactation specialists
  • Neonatal nutrition support team
  • Neonatal clinical pharmacist
  • Nitric oxide and high frequency ventilation
  • Renal dialysis

Consultation/Transport

Neonatology consultation by telephone is provided 24 hours a day. A phone call to (713) 704-2500 or (800) 392-5433 will access telephone consultation with the faculty neonatologist on call at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital. These transports are staffed by specially trained neonatal transport nurses and when necessary, by a faculty member or fellow.  Our Transport Team operates in close collaboration with Memorial Hermann Life Flight, so that arrangements can be made for transport by air or ground, as appropriate.

Family Accommodations

Facilities for our NICU patients' families include breastfeeding rooms, isolation rooms, overnight rooms for parents pre-discharge and the Ronald McDonald House for parents of hospitalized infants.

Lyndon Baines Johnson Hospital

The UT Houston neonatology service at LBJ General Hospital was established in 1990. It serves one of two large obstetrical services for the Harris County Hospital District. There are approximately 3,500 deliveries per year at LBJ Hospital. About 600-700 infants, all inborn, are admitted to our NICU each year. This nursery has 36 medical/surgical beds overall with 12 ICU beds and 2 isolation rooms. The UT Houston neonatology service provides comprehensive intensive care for seriously ill neonates in the NICU at LBJ Hospital. Pediatric medical and surgical consultation is available from the UT faculty.

High-Risk Follow-Up Clinics

Multidisciplinary follow-up clinics have been established at the Hermann Professional Building and at LBJ Hospital (currently under the direction of Dr. Patricia Evans). The goals of these clinics are to track the post-discharge health and neurodevelopmental outcomes of all infants < 1000g birth weight and to coordinate clinical services for infants with ongoing specialized health care needs after discharge from the NICU.

Contact Information

UT-Houston Medical School Neonatology Academic Offices
Department of Pediatrics
6431 Fannin, Suite 3.242
Houston, TX 77030
Phone: (713) 500-5727
Fax: (713) 500-5794

Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital NICU
6411 Fannin
Houston, TX 77030
Phone: (713) 704-2900
Fax: (713) 704-3834

For Consultation/Referrals/Transports (answered 24-hours a day), call (713) 704-2500 or (800) 392-5433

Lyndon Baines Johnson Hospital NICU
5656 Kelley St.
Houston, TX 77026
Phone: (713) 566-5828