Revising of NICU levels

[Humbled_Nurse]

Just curious to see if ya'll have heard about the revising of the levels of care and what your thoughts are on this. I think we can all agree on what Level I and Level IV entail, but Level II and Level III can get a little "gray" and it looks like this is where most of the revisions will be. There is such a wide spectrum on what Level III's can do. I think it can be misleading when Mom's see that where they plan to deliver has a "Level III" NICU and she assumes that they can handle just about anything which we know isn't necessarily true. I've heard with these revisions that it will be harder to obtain Level III status. Thoughts?

[babyNP., APRN]

I agree that there is a wide scope, but it's better than it was...I've had parents tell me, "Well x hospital is a Level III too! I don't know why they sent us to you guys," when she came from a little tiny level 3A and we were a level 3C (which was the old designation). At least with Level IV designation, parents have an easier time grasping 4 > 3 than the whole Level III A/B/C situation. In fact, some children's hospitals started using that designation before it came out just to differentiate itself.

[spacey]

I've heard changes are coming but am having a hard time finding a site where it's all spelled out clearly. Anyone have a helpful link? Thanks!

[labordude, BSN, RN]

Different states also have varying requirements as there is no national group that specifies standards. Here in TX, there is a large perinatal committee looking at standardizing because of this situation and having far too many LBW babies born in "Level III" NICUs that I wouldn't deliver a puppy in.

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

It was easy back in the day when you had to apply for a certificate for your level, now anyone can have a level 3 if they show the right things. We used to have 2 In our city 20 years ago, now we have 6.