St. Francis Medical Center, part of Centura Health, recently celebrated the opening of its expanded Level 3 neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The expansion is the first phase of a multipart 168,000-square-foot, $102 million project that also includes a new emergency department, new operating rooms, antepartum rooms, and shell space for future growth.

The new NICU includes increased capacity from 30 beds to 46 beds, single patient rooms with sliding glass doors family sleeping zones and full restrooms, a breast milk lab room, two couplet care rooms, increased space to care for multiples (twins, triplets, etc.), and a family pre-discharge room.

The project was completed using the Integrated Project Delivery method with a multi-party agreement.

Future phases will be completed in early 2019. The project team includes RTA Architects, GE Johnson Construction Co., and Penrose-St. Francis Health Services.