



Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital, is a 46-bed, Level IV Regional Perinatal Center with the ability to care for the most complex patients and provide consultation to other newborn units in the region.
What we do: Our neonatologists provide expert, comprehensive, family-centered care for more than 1,000 newborns each year. Infants under our care are born within the Mount Sinai Health System or are transferred from other newborn units in the region. Our patients have medical or surgical problems including:
- Multi-organ system problems associated with prematurity
- Congenital disorders including complex congenital heart disease
- Chronic lung disease of prematurity, including those with pulmonary hypertension
- Liver, intestinal, or kidney problems requiring consultation for organ transplant
- Rare metabolic disorders
- Complex congenital anomalies
Who we are: Our medical staff includes board-certified neonatologists, newborn-perinatal medicine fellows, pediatric residents, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pediatric medical subspecialists, and pediatric general and subspecialty surgeons. Our unit is also staffed with more than 120 nurses who specialize in newborn care, as well as dedicated social workers, lactation consultants, music therapists, child life specialists, rehabilitation specialists, and respiratory therapists.
Why Choose Mount Sinai?
Our mission: We are dedicated to providing nurturing, family-centered care. Our entire staff recognizes and supports the vital role families play in the care of a sick newborn.
We coordinate and participate in prenatal, multidisciplinary meetings with expectant families when complex medical issues are anticipated. Meetings can include tours of relevant areas of the Women and Children’s Center where the baby and family will receive care.
The health care team in the NICU understands that having an infant in the ICU is an anxious time for parents and families. We are here to help you through your NICU experience. Our goal is to make the hospital experience as positive as possible for our patients and their families. We encourage parents to visit their baby as often as possible and to take an active role in the child’s care. What you notice about your baby is important. Parents are encouraged to attend and participate in daily bedside interdisciplinary rounds on their baby. At any time, we encourage you to ask questions about your baby’s progress and to raise any concerns about your child’s condition.
In addition to routine NICU care, we provide, as needed:
- Newborn extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)
- Mechanical ventilation (including high frequency ventilation and nitric oxide)
- Therapeutic hypothermia
- Surgical evaluation/treatment by multiple dedicated pediatric surgical teams
- Pre-transplant evaluation (solid organ and bone marrow)
- Peritoneal dialysis
- Point-of-care sonography
Our special clinical programs include the following:
- Pediatric Chronic Lung Program
- NICU Developmental Follow-up Clinic
- Fetal Heart Program
- Newborn Palliative Care
- NICU-based social work support including the Parent Sharing Support Group, NICU Family Advisory Council
- Parent CPR Training
- Music Therapy
- Child Life Services including the Siblings Support and Visitation program
- Chaplain services
- 24-hour live translation services, available via video-link in hundreds of languages
- Newborn-focused research through the Stroustrup Lab, Groves Lab, Mindich Child Health and Development Institute, and The Institute for Exposomic Research.
Our special training programs include the following:
- Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship
- Mount Sinai and visiting residency training rotations
- Mount Sinai and visiting medical student clerkships
- International Observer Program
Leadership
Our leadership includes the following faculty and staff:
Courtney Juliano, MD
System Chief and NICU Medical Director
Jennifer Bragg, MD
Director of the NICU Follow-Up Clinic
Veniamin Ratner, MD
Medical Director of newborn ECMO
Program Director, newborn-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship
Megan Clampet, MSN, RNC-MNN
NICU Nurse Manager
Shanna Spain, MSN, RN, PNP
NICU ECMO Coordinator
NICU Nurse Educator
Melanie Altar, RN
NICU Assistant Nurse Manager
Lindsey Albutt, RN
NICU Assistant Nurse Manager