Baptist Health La Grange to add NICU with support from Kosair for Kids
LA GRANGE, Ky. (July 24, 2026) — Babies born in Oldham County will soon have access to specialized neonatal care without leaving family.
Baptist Health La Grange plans to establish a four-bed Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). A Level II NICU, also called a special care nursery, sits between routine newborn care and the highest levels of intensive care. It provides additional monitoring, feeding support and short-term breathing assistance for babies who need more attention than a healthy full-term newborn.
Clint Kaho, Baptist Health La Grange president, said the project is about more than expanding services — it is about closing the distance between families and the support their newborns need.
"This is for the families in our community,” Kaho said. “When a baby needs a little extra help getting started, this NICU means the family gets to stay right here, together. They get the specialized care their baby needs and the comfort of staying close to home.”
The $5 million project is supported by a $1 million gift from Kosair for Kids. In recognition, the unit will be named the Kosair for Kids NICU.
The commitment builds on a long-standing partnership between Kosair for Kids and Baptist Health to strengthen care for children and families throughout Kentucky and southern Indiana. In 2023, Kosair for Kids gave $5 million to support Mother & Baby Care services across eight Baptist Health hospitals and rebrand the service line to Baptist Health Mother & Baby Care supported by Kosair for Kids. In 2025, the organization pledged another $5 million to enhance NICU services at Baptist Health hospitals in Louisville, Lexington, Corbin and New Albany.
Barry Dunn, president and CEO of Kosair for Kids, said supporting the NICU in La Grange is the next chapter of that work.
“Kosair for Kids is proud to invest in local care for children,” Dunn said. “This gift ensures that our most fragile babies born in Oldham County are welcomed with the specialized care of a Level II NICU and Kosair for Kids is blessed to play a role in giving those precious babies the best start possible.”
Baptist Health La Grange, the only hospital in Oldham County, provides prenatal, birth and postpartum care through its Mother & Baby Care team to families from across the region. Prenatal scans and appointments happen at the hospital, delivery is handled by a single obstetrics group that delivers exclusively at Baptist Health La Grange, and families receive highly focused attention throughout pregnancy and beyond.
The Mother & Baby Care team also supports mothers through the physical and emotional work of becoming a parent. Certified lactation counselors help with breastfeeding. Inpatient physical therapy consults are available for new mothers. And through the hospital's Behavioral Health unit, mental health support is available for mothers who need it — not just as a screening, but as a consult with a professional while the mother is still in the hospital.
Amy Richardson, MD, OB/GYN at Baptist Health La Grange, said the NICU builds on the personalized care already offered to families.
"Choosing where to have your baby is one of the earliest and biggest decisions of pregnancy. With the NICU, patients who choose Baptist Health La Grange are choosing a team ready to care for their family from the first appointment to whatever the delivery brings," Dr. Richardson said.
Design and construction planning for the NICU are underway. MKM architecture + design has been selected to design the project and Wehr Constructors, Inc. has been chosen as the contractor. Construction is expected to begin later this year, with the unit anticipated to open in early 2028.