Neuro NICU at CHOP

The Founders of Miracle In Motion are excited about this partnership with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The decision to make this large financial commitment was not something that was taken lightly. As an organization our goal has always been to help as many children effected by newborn brain injury as possible. By funding the development of a Neonatal Neurologic Intensive Care Unit at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Miracle In Motion is achieving this goal. Through this work at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Miracle In Motion is creating a legacy that will help a countless number of brain injured newborns for many, many, many years to come.

Background:
Doctors at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have identified that brain injury continues to be a significant cause of future morbidity for both term and preterm infants. Despite advances in many areas of neonatal medicine, there are major gaps in knowledge in how to best prevent, treat and maximize the recovery of infants who suffer from brain injury.

Vision:
CHOP Doctors plan to create a specialized team within the existing Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Neonatal/Infant Intensive Care Unit focused on the neurologic care of infants with or at high risk of brain injury.

Rationale:
Neurocritical care has emerged as a distinct subspecialty in adult medicine that focuses on acute brain injury. The existence of neurointensive care units dedicated to coordinating care between intensivists, neurologists and neurosurgeons has been shown to improve outcomes for these patients. At the time of birth, the brain is the most immature organ in a term infant and is significantly more immature in a preterm infant. Doctors know that the normal course of development of the nervous systems is ongoing and extends for a much longer period after birth then any other organ system. Because of this, infants and young children have been shown to have unique capacity for plasticity (reorganization) in the face of brain injury that is not possible in older populations and leads to potentially better outcomes. What is not known, is how best to harness this plasticity to maximize recovery. Other institutions have begun to consolidate neurologic care of infants into neonatal neurocritical care units in order to streamline the delivery of care, serve as a basis for research questions, and translate research advances into the clinical arena. This is done with the hope of maximizing infant outcomes, preserving normal brain function and minimizing injury.

Goals:
Specific goals for the creation of this unit are as follows:
1. Consolidate multi-specialty care among Neonatology, Neurology, and Neurosurgery Services.
2. Standardize the delivery of care to infants with existing or at high risk for brain injury.
3. Bridge the disciplines of nursing, medicine, surgery and developmental care in the treatment of brain injured infants.
4. Implement evidence-based research advances into clinical care.
5. Catalyze translational research around the development of novel treatments to prevent brain injury and improve outcomes.

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