Clay County NICU

Helping Little Ones Stay Close with Advanced NICU Care

Imagine the joy of welcoming a new life, only to have that moment overshadowed by the urgent need for specialized care.

For hundreds of Clay County families each year, the beauty surrounding birth is followed by a heartbreaking reality – babies who unexpectedly need specialized care must leave our hospital for treatment elsewhere. Instead of those invaluable first hours of bonding, mothers and newborns experience sudden separation.

Because of this, many expectant parents that have higher-risk pregnancies plan to deliver at other hospitals ahead of time – just in case their newborns require advanced care. Essentially, these families are forced to choose between the security of a hospital with a Level II NICU and the comfort of delivering close to home.

That’s why Ascension St. Vincent’s is establishing a Level II NICU in Clay County that will allow babies and families to stay together even if they face challenging beginnings.

This expansion extends our Catholic mission to serve the most vulnerable, ensuring all families in Clay County have access to exceptional neonatal care close to home.

Learn more about our exciting NICU plans by reading below. If you would like to join us in establishing this special new unit, please contact us.

thefoundation@ascension.org

(904) 308-7306

Meeting a Critical Need in a Growing Community

9,000+

new homes under construction within five miles of the hospital

56%

Percentage of patients who are under-insured or uninsured

258

Clay County newborns require care at other facilities each year

200%

increased risk of postpartum depression when mothers are separated from their newborns

Creating a Sanctuary for Clay County's Newborns

We’re expanding our Family Birth Place, located within the J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver Women and Infants Pavilion, to include a state-of-the-art Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

This 5,000-square-foot expansion will feature eight private NICU rooms, equipped to care for moderately ill newborns (30+ weeks gestation or 1,250+ grams). It ensures we can:

Keep babies and their families together at our hospital even when complications arise
Give expectant parents with higher-risk pregnancies the confidence to choose our hospital from the start

By bringing this specialized care to our hospital, we will keep an estimated 240 families together in the first year alone, ensuring uninterrupted bonding. Additionally, hundreds more families will no longer have to look elsewhere for the care they may need when they are initially choosing a hospital.

Expecting More Stories of Hope

From the moment we arrived, the care was incredible. It wasn’t just the expertise—it was the empathy and compassion."

Emily

Ascension St. Vincent’s Southside

Supporting the Full Journey from Pregnancy to Parenthood

At Ascension St. Vincent’s Clay County, our vision for the new Level II NICU is deeply rooted in the family-centered care already provided through our Family Birth Place. Your support of this new initiative will not only strengthen the physical space, but also maintain the wraparound services that are currently guiding families through every step of their journey.

The Seton Center for Women & Infants

By supporting the expansion of our NICU and the wraparound programs that protect our community’s youngest patients, you are helping every family in Clay County start their story together, with strength, support, and hope.

The Seton Center serves mothers and families from pregnancy through the baby’s first year. This trusted community resource offers:

Prenatal and childbirth education classes
Lactation support and breast pump rentals
Newborn care instruction and postpartum assessments
Infant health screenings and ongoing nurse consultations

These services ensure that families are equipped with the knowledge, confidence, and resources they need before and after their hospital stay.

Safe Sleep Program

Ascension St. Vincent’s Clay County is certified by the Cribs for Kids National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program. Our Safe Sleep education empowers families to prevent sleep-related deaths, a leading cause of infant mortality in Florida.

Florida has one of the highest rates of sleep-related infant deaths in the country. These are preventable tragedies, and Ascension St. Vincent’s is committed to reducing this risk through proactive, compassionate education.

Through hospital-based training and ongoing community outreach, our care team educates parents and caregivers on how to create a safe sleep environment for their newborns. This includes everything from proper room temperature to what not to place in a crib.