First all-private room NICU in Ventura County welcomes its first first patient

OXNARD, Calif .-- Dignity Health St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard says its new all private room Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) welcomed its first patient Tuesday.

The Level III NICU features 20 all private rooms, allowing parents to stay close to their newborns receiving intensive care.

The NICU is the first of its kind in Ventura County, according to Dignity Health.

Private rooms allow one of the parents to stay overnight with their newborn.

“A parent never expects that their baby will need to spend time in a NICU. However, those who do will tell you that the most difficult part of the experience is leaving their baby at the hospital at the end of the day,” says Darren Lee, President and CEO of St. John’s Regional

The 12,492-square-foot unit exceeds the size of the hospital’s previous NICU, which included two open layout rooms that grouped patients into eight-bed pods. The new space includes two isolation rooms and rooms that adjoin can be used to accommodate twins