At St. Joe’s, we’re prioritizing our tiniest patients with the development of a new neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) that will transform the way critical care is delivered to newborns and their families. In late 2024, the Ontario Ministry of Health announced that it will invest in a new NICU that will feature more private rooms, state-of-the-art design standards and an enhanced ability to support the latest infection prevention measures. 

“We are incredibly grateful to the Ontario government for this vital investment in our NICU,” says Mike Heenan, President of St. Joe’s. “This funding will strengthen our mission of providing compassionate, high-quality care to the most vulnerable members of our community. It also reflects a shared commitment to advancing healthcare, giving our NICU healthcare workers and physicians the infrastructure to continue leading with excellence, every day.”

The current NICU, or special care nursery, will be renovated to create a larger and more comfortable space to ensure better access to specialized neonatal intensive care and family-centred birthing supports. The redeveloped space will feature:

• More private rooms to address privacy concerns and create lower stimulus environments for newborn patients   
• Capability to accommodate state-of-the art design standards which provide more space for specialized care   
• Enhanced infection prevention and control measures to ensure the health and safety of critically ill newborn patients   
• A designated room to store pumped or donated milk    
• Supports tailored to the early developmental needs of newborn patients   

The NICU team at St. Joe’s cares for more than 600 newborn patients every year. They provide round-the-clock care for newborns arriving up to eight weeks early and patients who are transferred to our care from another hospital in the region. St. Joe’s NICU team includes highly trained healthcare workers and physicians who are experts in neonatal medicine who work with unwavering compassion, responding to complex and urgent needs with expertise and resilience.

“For families, every day here can be both challenging and filled with hope,” says Dr. Angelo Mikrogianakis, chief of pediatrics at McMaster Children’s Hospital and St. Joe’s. “This announcement will allow us to create a facility that supports both healing and family-centred care. This support is invaluable for the patients and families who rely on our care, as well as the dedicated healthcare workers of St. Joe’s.”