Cleveland--Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital at University Hospitals Case Medical Center is breaking ground on the Quentin & Elisabeth Alexander Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Plans for the new unit were announced last year as part of UH's Vision 2010 initiatives.

The new NICU is being named in recognition of an unprecedented gift from The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Foundation this past summer. The Prentiss Foundation gave a $10 million gift to University Hospitals, $7 million of that going towards the new NICU at Rainbow. Quentin and Elisabeth Alexander have been long-time trustees of the Prentiss Foundation, and the naming honors their service and leadership to The Prentiss Foundation and Rainbow. Betty Alexander is a former president of the Rainbow Babies & Children's Foundation, and Quentin served as a University Hospitals trustee for many years.

"Betty and Quentin have been instrumental in many of the contributions The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Foundation has been able to make to the community. They truly deserve this recognition," said Harry Bolwell, fellow trustee of the foundation, former chairman of the board at University Hospitals, and retired CEO of Midland Ross Corporation. "Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital is a nationally recognized pediatric health care facility, and we are so proud that The Prentiss Foundation has been able to help them maintain their position among the top children's hospitals in the country."

"We are thrilled to begin this journey to a new state-of-the-future-art NICU that will bring so many new technologies and advancements in care to our patients," said Thomas F. Zenty III, president and CEO, University Hospitals. "Building the new NICU is a critical piece of our Vision 2010 initiatives, and we expect to complete construction by late summer 2008."

The new 40-bed NICU will unite advanced technology, research and clinical services in a home-like environment with private space for parents to sleep at their child's bedside. There will be additional diagnostic capabilities within the unit, so that these very small infants do not have to be moved around the hospital for tests and procedures. The new unit will also include a surgical suite and imaging capabilities to enhance safety and stability.

The newly designed patient rooms in the family-centered NICU will create a sheltered, protective environment, in which babies can receive the best care possible. New monitoring systems are being installed that will instantly alert caregivers to changes in the baby's condition, without loud noises and distractions that can disturb the baby's rest. Variable lighting is being installed that will change as the baby's condition changes, and each room will offer acoustic features and adjustable lights.

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