Stanford Affiliation with NICU

The Norman P. Andresen, MD Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Salinas Valley Health has had a strong affiliation with Stanford Medicine Children’s Health since the NICU's opening in January 2001. Neonatologist Robert Castro, MD is the Medical Director of the Norman P. Andresen, MD NICU and a Clinical Professor at Stanford University who lives and practices in the Salinas area.

Each premature or seriously ill infant patient in our NICU has his or her own set of medical needs that sometimes require the participation of specialists in Pediatric Cardiology. Salinas Valley Memorial and Stanford University are now linked via a high-speed audio/video network. This link enables our Neonatologists to securely transmit the results of an infant's echocardiogram to a pediatric cardiologist at Stanford. With two-way, real-time video and audio communications, the physicians confer on the best course of care for each tiny patient.

Our Level III nursery allows us to care for the most critically ill babies, including those who are premature, have a very low birth weight or are medically fragile. The skill and experience of our Neonatologists, our state-of-the-art facilities and technological capabilities, and our affiliation with Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford meaning that more families can receive care for their infants while staying close to home.