The Pediatric Unit at St. Luke’s Meridian offers family-centered care to patients from infancy through adolescence. We understand that children have different needs than adults, and require the special attention and skills our caregivers can provide.

Our new unit opened on the sixth floor in 2008, and is specially designed for children, from the kid-friendly décor to the experienced pediatric staff. All 10 rooms are private, and parents are encouraged to stay 24 hours a day.

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Our Pediatric Unit features advanced technology, as well as the procedures and care practices that have been shown to result in the best recovery for children. These include pediatric monitors in each room to measure a child’s cardiac, respiratory, and other vital signs; and several “Bili beds” with phototherapy lights to treat newborns with jaundice, using light to eliminate excess bilirubin in the blood.

There is also a separate treatment room so children don’t associate painful or frightening procedures with their own patient room. The treatment room features high intensity light to help caregivers find tiny veins, and a child resuscitation cart with drawers that are color-coded by age for fast action in a pediatric cardiac emergency.

Outpatient procedures, including circumcision, are performed on the unit, and a breast pump is available for nursing mothers. To keep children and their parents entertained, TVs and movies are available in every room. VCR/DVD players are kept in a separate, central location and connected remotely to each room, so videotapes and DVDs don’t go from room to room and spread germs.

Dedicated Caregivers
There is a lot of love on the Pediatric Unit at St. Luke’s Meridian – we are here because we truly love kids. Our pediatric team consists of professionals who have been trained in the care of infants and children, as well as support staff and volunteers.

Pediatric nurses provide direct patient care to our young patients, watching over them and frequently assessing their condition. All our pediatric nurses receive the same quality of specialty training as caregivers at St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital and throughout the St. Luke’s system. We cross-train and share staff with our Meridian Newborn Intensive Care Unit and the Children’s Hospital in Boise.

Children are admitted to the unit by pediatricians, family practice physicians, surgeons, cardiologists, orthopedists, and other specialists. As part of the team, physicians make rounds once or twice a day to manage our patients’ care.