Providing system level planning to strengthen Ontario’s neonatal intensive care care system.
In October 2017, the Ministry of Health expanded CCSO’s mandate to include Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU). CCSO was charged with adapting and applying previously successful initiatives used in making improvements in Adult and Paediatric critical care to the neonatal intensive care system. This includes oversight for NICU capacity planning and for guiding improvements across the NICU system to ensure that Ontario’s youngest patients have access to the services they need, where and when they need them.
In Ontario eight hospitals have Level 3 NICUs that provide tertiary / quaternary neonatal care (hospitals listed below) and 44 hospitals have Level 2 NICUs.
The Level 3 NICUs provide the highest level of intensive care to the most vulnerable and severely ill infants including surgical and sub-specialty services. The Level 2 NICUs provide care to moderately ill infants who range from 30 weeks gestation with a birth weight of more than 1200 grams to over 34 weeks gestation with a birth weight of over 1800 grams.
A resource guide to help the adoption and implementation of the Neonatal Practice Standards into neonatal units. This document has been adapted based on the framework in the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) Implementation Tool Kit.
A compendium checklist to be used as a guiding document in conjunction with the CCSO’s Neonatal Practice Standards as well as relevant hospital policies, and local practice context. The checklist was developed in consideration of competencies relevant for level 2 and level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs).
Help users understand and navigate the quarterly NICU Critical Care Scorecard Reports (launched February 2022). The terms, definitions, layout and purpose of each scorecard (unit and peer group) are explained in this guide with sample graphs and charts for ease of interpretation.