UW Medicine’s contracts with Aetna for Medicare Advantage and Commercial services expire on May 31, 2025, unless renewed. We have not been able to reach a fair agreement with Aetna that is financially feasible. If an agreement cannot be reached, we will be out of network with Aetna, effective June 1, 2025. Learn more.
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
All parents look forward to healthy pregnancies and routine deliveries. But unexpected challenges or complications sometimes occur. Mothers-to-be and newborns whose needs require more advanced care no longer have to travel to Tacoma or downtown Seattle. Valley Medical Center's state-of-the-art Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) provides special monitoring, treatment, technology (including ventilation), and staff for sick or premature infants.
The region’s most highly-respected neonatal specialists from Seattle Children’s and UW Medicine Neonatology provide comprehensive, around the clock care for infants in Valley's NICU. This tightly-coordinated team also practices developmental care, which research attributes to more positive outcomes in the sickest infants. Premature or fragile infants who require complex surgery may be transferred to a facility that offers a higher level of specialty care.
An Environment That Helps Families Bond
Valley Medical Center's NICU is designed so that families can room together with their infants.
"We had excellent care and friendly nurses who gave us all the privacy we needed. If we had been in Seattle I would only have gotten to see them twice a week or so. But since they were at Valley, I could be with them two or three times a day."
Evaluations & Therapy
Specially trained physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech language pathologists serve on our multidisciplinary team in the NICU to provide developmental evaluations and therapy to these fragile patients. Therapy staff is available Monday through Friday.
View more information about Childrens Therapy provided by Mary Bridge Children's Hospital.