Any newborn who is ill or premature is treated in Mission's neonatal intensive care unit. Approximately 600 babies begin their lives in the unit each year, some of whom are born barely weighing one pound while others require complex surgeries at only a few days old. The fifty-one-bed NICU, which opened in 2002, serves as the state's highest level of designated care for seventeen counties in Western North Carolina. Mission's expert team of neonatologists, nurses and therapist make sure these infants and their families receive the most advanced neonatal care and support. With the support of the Neonatal Development Follow-Up Program working with families and children to identify developmental delays and create a course of therapy that will assist in the development up to 2 years of age. In addition to being the place where staff care for babies with serious threats to their health, the NICU is also where parents learn how to care for their newborn in the NICU's spacious parenting rooms. Learn more.