WILMINGTON - New Hanover Regional Medical Center's Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) began accepting patients on December 1. The PICU, located in the Betty H. Cameron Women's and Children's Hospital, allows the region's critically ill children to receive the specialized care they need close to home.

Previously, children requiring care in a PICU were transferred to hospitals several hours outside the Wilmington area. With the opening of NHRMC's PICU, families facing the stress of having a critically ill child, no longer have the added burden of long, expensive commutes.

NHRMC's PICU has six private rooms and is staffed by doctors with advanced training in critical care. Life saving equipment and supplies are also at hand to meet the size-specific needs of children. The unit is family focused and believes in the importance of parental involvement. There is a sleep sofa in each room and a family kitchen, living room and washer and dryer on the Pediatric floor.

New Hanover Regional Medical Center is the leading provider of quality and accessible health care in Southeastern North Carolina, delivering care to all in need, without the support of taxpayer dollars. The medical center takes seriously its responsibility as an economic engine for the community, creating more than 4,700 jobs directly and another 3,000 jobs indirectly.