When the start of life begins with a lengthy hospital stay for the baby, the impact on the family and the baby can be monumental.

In these difficult situations, it's reassuring to know that you have a 200-person health care team operating the Level III Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) located at the Alta Bates Campus (View Map) in Berkeley.

Our unique, expanded, 55-bed NICU opened in November 1998 and much of its success is attributed in part to the fact that parents, physicians and nurses guided its design. Working closely together, they determined the structure and features necessary to make you comfortable as well as enable the staff to effectively treat your newborn.

Receiving the latest in technology and techniques, your baby will continue in the developmental growth process. And as we continue to increase our knowledge about pre-term and sick newborns, we can better customize their care for optimal outcomes.

Our successes are nothing short of miraculous. Each year we have a reunion where families can visit the staff and physicians who cared for their babies. Annually, more than 450 families attended.