LEXINGTON, Ky. — CHI Saint Joseph Health and UK HealthCare have announced an agreement for UK HealthCare to provide coverage for the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Women’s Hospital at Saint Joseph East.
The collaboration ensures that mothers and newborns at Saint Joseph East have access to the highest quality care when it is needed. UK HealthCare and CHI Saint Joseph Health initiated the agreement on July 1.
Specifically, under the agreement, neonatologists and advanced practice providers from UK HealthCare’s Kentucky Children’s Hospital will provide care for babies in the NICU, including those who are born prematurely, facing acute health complications, and/or requiring other specialized medical attention. This collaboration is similar to other agreements UK has with other partners across the state and is consistent with the guidelines of a Level IV NICU provider. Kentucky Children’s Hospital has one of only two Level IV NICUs in Kentucky and is the only one serving central and eastern Kentucky.
This agreement signifies a significant step forward for neonatal care in Lexington. Because of St. Joseph East’s access to UK HealthCare’s pool of providers, families with a baby in the NICU can be confident that there will never be a gap in coverage.
“At Kentucky Children’s Hospital, we have a mission and responsibility to serve Kentucky’s kids, particularly families that need access to advanced and specialty care,” said Scottie B. Day, M.D., the physician-in-chief at Kentucky Children’s Hospital. “This new relationship with Saint Joseph East allows us to accomplish just that, by expanding access to care for Kentucky’s smallest and most vulnerable patients. We are excited to have an outstanding community hospital system in Common Spirit join our team of strong community partners across the state who have the same goal we do: focusing on the improved overall health and wellbeing of Kentucky’s future generations.”
The agreement fosters an exchange of knowledge and resources. St. Joseph East teams will have direct access to the UK HealthCare training and workflow, further enhancing neonatal care at the facility.
CHI Saint Joseph Health, part of CommonSpirit Health, is one of the largest health systems in Kentucky with 100 locations in 20 counties, including hospitals, physician groups, clinics, primary care centers, specialty institutes, home health agencies and an ambulatory Care Center. The hospitals in CHI St. Joseph Health are Flaget Memorial Hospital, St. Joseph Berea, St. Joseph East, St. Joseph Hospital, St. Joseph Jessamine, St. Joseph London, St. Joseph Mount Sterling, and Women’s Hospital at Saint Joseph East. It serves patients in 35 counties statewide.
UK HealthCare is the hospitals and clinics of the University of Kentucky with more than 10,000 health care professionals providing advanced subspecialty care for the most critically injured and ill patients from the Commonwealth and beyond.
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