Dr. Snehal Doshi, chief executive officer of Millennium Neonatology, and his team of neonatologists will be working with UT Health Tyler to provide expert care in the newly announced neonatal intensive care unit, which is expected to open in the fall of this year.

UT Health Tyler’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is open with a neonatology team providing specialized care for babies born prematurely and those who have other complex care needs.

The hospital unveiled the plan to build the NICU last year. The NICU and newly renovated nursery are located on the fourth floor of the hospital, in a combined, 2,900 square feet area, featuring nine neonatal beds and the most up-to-date equipment for advanced care and monitoring.

When the hospital first unveiled plans to build the NICU, it was expected to be open and fully operating by the fall of 2021. With COVID-19 being the primary driver of the delay, the NICU officially opened Friday.

Vicki Briggs, CEO of UT Health Tyler, said having the ability to offer the most advanced care to babies in the rare event they need neonatal intensive care is exciting.

“Our investment of $2.7 million in construction and equipment to provide this level of care is a sign of our commitment to families in East Texas. We deeply appreciate the support and dedication of our obstetricians, pediatricians and neonatologists, along with the dedicated nurses and other caregivers at our Family Birthplace,” Briggs said.

Millennium Neonatology will provide board-certified neonatologists and other specialists who will work together with UT Health Tyler to provide family-centered, compassionate care using evidence-based principles, with constant quality assurance and improvement. Dr. Armando Castillo, whose primary specialty is neonatal-perinatal medicine, will serve as medical director of the department.

“In the NICU, we care for babies who need extra help to manage the transition from being born to being a healthy baby when they go home with their parents. This includes babies who are born too early or those who develop problems, such as low blood sugar or trouble breathing, that require specialized machines,” Castillo said. “With the addition of this NICU, UT Health Tyler will have the capabilities to keep these babies within the hospital, where they can be close to their families.”

Millennium Neonatology’s team of neonatologists will be working with UT Health Tyler to provide expert care. Last year, Dr. Snehal Doshi, CEO of Millennium Neonatology, said the ultimate goal is to keep families together after the delivery of a sick newborn.

“The smaller towns and counties, they actually do not have a neonatal intensive care unit. With the establishment of a NICU at UT Health Tyler, it allows for us to be able to get those infants and bring them here and be able to take care of them here,” Doshi said in an interview with the Tyler Morning Telegraph in January 2021.

Next on the agenda for the department is completing a specialty transport team that will be able to transfer high-risk mothers and infants from UT Health regional hospitals in Athens, Henderson and Jacksonville to the NICU in Tyler, meaning high-risk mothers and infants will no longer need to travel to Dallas for a higher level of care. Instead, they will have the convenience of having state-of-the-art neonatal beds and equipment within reach in Tyler.

“Our goal is to have the ability to bring infants from our surrounding hospitals and keep almost all infants together with their parents at UT Health Tyler. No longer will infants have to travel so far to get the care they need and deserve,” Castillo said.