"When Every Hour Counts: How Golisano Children’s Hospital Is Changing Outcomes"
Celebrating NICU Awareness Month, the Golisano Children’s Hospital NICU is making a difference for families in need for exceptional, timely infant care.
Fort Myers, Florida, Sept. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Golisano Children’s Hospital of Lee Health in Southwest Florida is a leader in the country for premier care and survival rates for some of the tiniest and most vulnerable patients, as young as just 22 weeks of gestation. The recently collected data shows dramatic growth at the NICU attributed to a focused quality improvement initiative.
For Taylor Davis, these outcomes aren’t just numbers; her twin daughters are living reminders of the impact of the Golisano NICU.
Taylor gave birth to twin girls several days apart at just 22 weeks gestation. One baby weighed less than a pound, the other just over one. Against all odds, and with 130 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), both girls survived and thrived thanks to the extraordinary skill, innovation, and dedication of the Golisano care team. Today, the Davis twins are not only healthy but also part of a legacy of change: their case helped inform new protocols that continue to shape how future preterm babies are treated.
“Babies born this early face enormous challenges, but with a standardized, data-driven care model, we are shifting the odds in their favor,” said Dr. William Liu, neonatologist with Lee Health and co-author of the quality initiative. “This isn’t just a success for our NICU. This is a major advancement for families in Southwest Florida and beyond.”
A recent internal study, presented at the 2025 Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Meeting by Dr. Liu and Dr. Harshit Doshi, revealed that the survival rate for infants born at 22 to 24 weeks at Golisano Children’s Hospital rose from just 14.3% between 2016 and 2019 to an extraordinary 70% between 2020 and 2023. This leap places Golisano among the leading institutions nationally for care at the edge of viability.
Through this initiative, driven by collaboration between neonatologists, obstetricians, NICU multidisciplinary caregivers including nurses, respiratory therapists and collaboration with families, Golisano Children’s Hospital is redefining what’s possible in neonatal care.
Key components of the initiative include:
- Early and structured perinatal consultation beginning at 21+5 weeks
- Standardization of “Golden Hour” delivery room practices
- Updated NICU care guidelines focused on respiratory, cardiovascular and skin management
- Integration of protocols into the hospital’s electronic health record (EHR)
- Ongoing interdisciplinary staff education and collaboration
“Nationally, obstetricians and neonatologists often felt babies at 22 weeks simply had no chance for survival,” said Dr. Liu. “We recognized a need to redefine how we approached care for our most fragile patients. Our initiative, at 22 weeks, was about moving away from an ‘entitlement to death’ and partnering with parents to give these babies a real chance—not just in theory, but through meaningful, evidence-based change.”
Taylor Davis was one such partner. From the moment she was told her girls were coming early, she worked closely with her care team to understand their options. It was a shared decision built on trust, clarity, and the hope that, even at 22 weeks, survival was possible. The Davis twins’ journey was once unimaginable but is now a story of possibility for families everywhere.
The initiative was further strengthened by Golisano’s participation in the Uber Preemie Collaborative, a Pediatrix-led national network that shares data and best practices from top-performing NICUs across the country.
“We are proud to be leading the way in advanced neonatal care, not just for our community in Southwest Florida, but for the whole country,” said Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser, chief medical officer of Lee Health. “By embracing progressive medical standards and supporting families through these critical, early, precious moments, we’re not only improving survival rates—we’re shaping the future of pediatric healthcare.”
To learn more, please visit www.leehealth.org.
Pat Dolce Lee Health 239-343-8370 pat.dolce@leehealth.org
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