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A comparison of the direct cost of care in an open-bay and single-family room NICU

Journal of Perinatology volume 34, pages 830–835 (2014)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective:

This research examined the proposition that the direct costs of care were no different in an open-bay (OPBY) as compared with a single-family room (SFR) neonatal intensive care (NICU) environment.

Study Design:

This was a sequential cohort study.

Result:

General linear models were implemented using clinical and cost data for all neonates admitted to the two cohorts studied. Costs were adjusted to year 2007 U.S. dollars. Models were constructed for the unadjusted regression and subsequently by adding demographic variables, treatment variables, length of respiratory support and length of stay. With the exception of the last, none were found to achieve significance. The full model had R2=0.799 with P=0.0095 and predicted direct costs of care less in the SFR NICU.

Conclusion:

For the time, location and administrative practices in place, this study demonstrates that care can be provided in the SFR NICU at no additional cost as compared with OPBY NICU.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the following organizations: Sanford Health System, the Sanford Health Research Foundation, the Foundation for the Advancement of Medical Education and Research of the Sanford School of Medicine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Boekelheide Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Sanford Children’s Hospital, Sioux Falls, SD, USA,

    D C Stevens, C C Helseth, M Akram Khan & D P Munson

  2. Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD, USA,

    D C Stevens, P A Thompson, C C Helseth, B Hsu, M Akram Khan & D P Munson

  3. Sanford Research, Sanford Health System, Sioux Falls, SD, USA,

    P A Thompson

  4. Sanford Children’s Hospital, Sioux Falls, SD, USA,

    B Hsu

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  1. D C Stevens
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Correspondence to D C Stevens.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Stevens, D., Thompson, P., Helseth, C. et al. A comparison of the direct cost of care in an open-bay and single-family room NICU. J Perinatol 34, 830–835 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2014.178

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