Transfers to other units or to hospitals closer to home.
Your baby might not stay in the NICU or the unit they were born in for their entire hospital stay. They may be moved based on their needs, the unit’s needs or to be closer to home. As a parent you will always know about the transfer before it happens and it will be planned ahead.
Transfer types
- Tertiary care (Level 3 or III Unit). Sometimes your baby may need to be transferred to a unit that is specialized for babies that need more care: this is called a tertiary unit. This may be within Fraser Health at Royal Columbian Hospital or Surrey Memorial Hospital, or at the Provincial NICU at BC Women’s Hospital in Vancouver.
- Closer to home. When your baby is ready, they may be transferred to a NICU closer to where you live in Fraser Health: Abbotsford Regional Hospital, Burnaby Hospital, Royal Columbian Hospital or Surrey Memorial Hospital. If you do not live in the Fraser Health region, your baby’s health care team will make every effort to transfer you to a NICU closer to your home when your baby is ready.
- Other units in the hospital. Some of our hospitals have a pediatric unit where your baby may be transferred. The pediatric units take babies that are close to going home and give you the opportunity to stay with your baby and provide more of your baby’s care.