NICUs in the US: levels of acuity, number of beds, and relationships to population factors

OBJECTIVE: To 1) define the number and characteristics of NICUs in the United States (US) and 2) identify hospital and population characteristics related to US NICUs. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study of US NICUs. RESULTS: There were 1424 NICUs identified in the US. Higher number of NICU beds was positively associated with higher NICU level (p < 0.0001). Higher acuity level and number of NICU beds related to being in a children’s hospital (p < 0.0001;p < 0.0001), part of an academic center (p = 0.006;p = 0.001), and in a state with Certificate of Need legislation (p = 0.023;p = 0.046). Higher acuity level related to higher population density (p < 0.0001), and higher number of beds related to increasing proportions of minorities in the population up until 50% minorities. There was also significant variation in NICU level by region. CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes new knowledge by describing an updated registry of NICUs in the US in 2021 that can be used for comparisons and benchmarking.