NIDCAP®
St. Luke’s Newborn Individualized
Developmental Care and Assessment Program
N
IDCAP® Nursery Certification
In 2008, St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital became the first hospital in the world to achieve Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) Nursery Certification. This honor was conferred by NIDCAP Federation International, whose mission is to develop and support a worldwide collaborative community of trainers, health care systems, professionals, families, and other partners to ensure that the highest quality of individualized, developmentally supportive, family centered care is available to all newborns in intensive and special care nurseries.
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About NIDCAP
NIDCAP uses
careful observation of each infant’s response to
his or her environment. By learning to interpret these
subtle responses, parents and caregivers can identify cues
that indicate stress, or stability and strength. Stress
cues are the infant’s way of telling parents or caregivers
that a break from the current environment is needed. Stability
or strength cues are the infant’s way of communicating
that he or she is relaxed and that now might be a good time
for interaction.
Through the use of NIDCAP principles, St. Luke’s NICU provides an environment that nurtures and supports the strengths and competencies of each infant and family. Proper application of NIDCAP principles has been shown to decrease length of stay as well as complication rates and required interventions, and to improve long-term developmental abilities.
In addition to using NIDCAP principles, St. Luke's offers NIDCAP training and education to health care professionals from Idaho and around the world.
NIDCAP was developed in 1984 by Heidelise Als, PhD, a psychologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and her colleagues at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Approximately 200 newborn intensive care units in the United States are currently using NIDCAP principles in their care of infants and families. As this sensitive approach toward caregiving becomes the accepted standard of care, many more medical centers will adopt NIDCAP care elements.
Did you know?
St. Luke’s NIDCAP® Center in
Boise, Idaho, is one of only 16 training
centers worldwide.
