Special Baby Care UNit (SCABU)

[rntexas]

is this similar to Nicu level II or intermediate care? What infant conditions do you normally have, procedures etc.. I know for the fact that there will be no vents. what will be the patient to nurse ratio?

[Gompers, BSN, RN]

Yeah, different hospitals have different names for units like that. Usually, a special care nursery=special baby care unit=level II nursery.

Your nurse:patient ratio will probably be anywhere from 1:2 to 1:8. Seriously, different hospitals do different things! Some treat this unit like an ICU and have very low ratios. Others see it as a small step above normal newborn nursery and give you higher ratios.

Most of the stuff you'll deal with...babies who need a little bit of oxygen as they get used to breathing (transitioning), babies who need IV antibiotics, babies who are withdrawing due to maternal drug abuse, babies who need phototherapy for jaundice, moderate preemies (30-something weeks), babies who are not great bottle feeders and may need tube feedings at times, babies who are having blood sugar problems, babies who need any kind of observation.

If any baby needs to be vented, you and the doctors you work with will be trained how to handle them, to get them stabilized until they can be transported to a hospital with a level III or IV NICU. So yeah, there might be vents, but they can't KEEP them. Usually within an hour of intubation they are transferred out.