NICU Levels of Care Guidance Document
2021 | Guidelines & Standards
The revised NICU levels of care guidance document applicable to current practice and service within level 2 and level 3 NICUs in Ontario.
Neonatal Intensive Care
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.
| Hospital Corporation Name (Level 3 NICU) | Ontario Health Region | Location |
|---|---|---|
| London Health Sciences Centre (Children’s Hospital) | West | London |
| Hamilton Health Sciences Centre (McMaster Children’s Hospital) | West | Hamilton |
| Sinai Health System | Toronto | Toronto |
| Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (Bayview Campus) | Toronto | Toronto |
| The Hospital for Sick Children | Toronto | Toronto |
| Kingston Health Sciences Centre | East | Kingston |
| Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario | East | Ottawa |
| The Ottawa Hospital (The General Campus) | East | Ottawa |