The NICU was overcrowded. For every baby, there was equip
ment that took up twice the space of the baby. The smaller
the baby, the more equipment there was. There were ventila
tors, monitors, IV pumps, rolling tables that held multiple pumps
designed to deliver microdoses of medications, special photo
therapy lights, supply bins that held different sizes of syringes and
needles, and a crash cart for each pod—equipped with every
thing needed to resuscitate a baby. The single-sized recliners
took whatever little space remained. Sometimes, those recliners
were removed to make space for the nurses to work. Most parents
either opted to go home to sleep or slept on the couches in the
parents’ lounge.
Once the NICU reached official full capacity, the nurses had
to find a way to squeeze a fifth baby into a pod. This was possible,
Sophie noticed, with babies who were less critical, usually closer
to full maturity and who didn’t require as much equipment or
intensive nursing care. Sometimes, even a sixth baby would be
allowed into a pod for a short while, doubling the assignment for
nurses. This was the tipping point when the census went well
over the max of forty. Eventually the numbers would climb into
the fifties.
The overcrowding put everybody in an irritable mood.
Nurses snapped at each other. Doctors barked their orders. There
was always tension in the air. Kim did her best by staying upbeat
and pleasant with the parents as she stepped around overflowing
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THE VERY BEST OF CARE
garbage cans or skirted around another IV pole standing in the
middle of the pod. But even Kim lost her patience sometimes.
There just wasn’t enough space—no room to have a private con
versation, no room to be alone with your baby. There was barely
enough room for nurses to do their work.
Sophie considered the crowded unit. She hadn’t seen much
of Rita, the lovely meter maid. It was no wonder. There was
hardly enough room for her to walk through the place without
tripping over something. Maybe she was getting the numbers she
needed for staffing from the head nurse. Sophie thought that the
overcrowding must compromise the care of the babies. Certainly,
it took its toll on the mental health of the parents, and it pushed
the nurses’ stress levels to the limits. Why didn’t they transfer
babies to other hospitals, ones with empty beds? How could there
be anything good about all these preterm babies crowding the
NICU
