St. Bernards expands neonatal intensive care unit

St. Bernards Medical Center announced an expansion of its neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) on Monday (Aug. 21), extending its bed capacity nearly 20% to 19 beds. The planned expansion occurred through a donation from The Luke Kellums NICU Fund, a local nonprofit organization started by Dustin and Callie Kellums to honor their son Luke, who died just weeks after a premature birth.

How much the project cost was not disclosed.

“We had wonderful care during our time in the St. Bernards NICU, and we wanted to do something to help parents and children in that same situation,” Callie Kellums said. “We were very grateful to have the NICU right here in our hometown, and we are honored to help it grow and expand.”

“This project and gift to support the expansion would not be possible without support from donors – family, friends and people who may not know us or our story, but know how important the NICU is to this community,” said Dustin.

Emily McGee, St. Bernards Vice President of Women’s and Children’s Services, stressed the importance of making room for more infants.

“We have Arkansas’ only NICU east of Little Rock, so it’s difficult to tell a family who needs a bed that we’re full,” McGee said. “This expansion helps us serve more families and their little ones across this region.”

As a Level 3A NICU, St. Bernards cares for infants as young as 28 weeks and 2.2 pounds. The hospital employs three board-certified neonatologists, a neonatal nurse practitioner, specialized respiratory staff, a clinical educator, a dietician, a social worker and numerous specially trained nursing professionals and staff to keep the NICU operating at all times. To date, it has cared for more than 2,500 infants.