Regional NICU

All hospitals in New York State that provide high risk neonatal care services (Level 2, 3 and 4 facilities) are required to participate in the Statewide Perinatal Data System including the submission of high risk neonatal data. Data for neonates entering all special care and intensive care nurseries for a period of greater than four hours is submitted to the State. The data elements collected supplement core SPDS module data, providing additional data on clinical risk status and interventions for high-risk newborns. The high-risk neonatal module also includes information on all newborns who die in the delivery room or in transit to the neonatal special care unit.

Three hospitals in the Finger Lakes Region qualify as Level 2, 3 or 4 facilities. These include Arnot Ogden Medical Center in Elmira, and Strong Memorial Hospital and Rochester General Hospital in Rochester. Arnot Ogden Medical Center began submitting Neonatal Intensive Care Unit data to the New York State Department of Health, in the spring of 2003. Strong Memorial Hospital began data submission in the fall of 2003. It is anticipated that Rochester General Hospital will begin submitting their data sometime in 2004.

Data submitted to the state is available to the participating hospitals for review and data analysis through a data export function that is easily accessed through the State’s Internet NICU module. Strong Memorial Hospital, as the region’s RPC, can access its own data and the de-identified data from its affiliate hospitals.

To get a better understanding of the data being collected you are encouraged to review the data collection forms: Patient Information Form and Diagnoses and Treatment Form are the Data Dictionary.

Questions regarding NICU data submission may be directed to Barbara Suter.