For the first time post-Covid, staff, patients and family members formally celebrated the work and dedication behind Washington Health’s level II neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
The reunion, held Sept. 20, is an opportunity for former NICU patients to meet the staff members who took care of them, as well as for those staff members to meet their patients “all grown up,” said Jessica Alsofrom, the medical director of Washington’s special care nursery.
“It’s amazingly rewarding,” Alsofrom added. “We get to see families again and we get to see their progress. It’s a really nice closure for a lot of us.”
Until 2020, Washington Health hosted get togethers like this yearly. This tradition started in 2014, when the hospital’s level II NICU opened in its current form through partnership with the University of California San Francisco.
Alsofrom said that the partnership with UCSF is a big part of what makes their program so special because it offers specialized care in combination with the benefits offered by smaller, community based hospitals.
“Families have access to world-class care, but it’s local and family centered,” Alsofrom said. “Its really important to have healthcare providers that you can trust.”
This is something that Alsofrom experienced first hand when her own son was hospitalized shortly after birth.
“He needed to go to the NICU right away and I felt confident that he was going to be ok because I knew how amazing the care is here,” Alsofrom said. “I knew that everyone here had the skill and expertise to stabilize him.”
Alsofrom added that she is thankful to be able to offer parents that kind of reassurance during a very difficult experience. Other staff members felt the same way. Clydne Holte, a former nurse and current hospital volunteer, worked the reunion for that very reason. As soon as she had the opportunity to volunteer with babies, Holte said that she jumped at the chance.
“I don’t know what else I would do,” Holte said. “The babies are special.”
Holte added that her first grandchild had been in the NICU after birth, so she personally understood how much this type of care meant to families.
“It’s really all about the patients,” said Washington Health CEO Kimberly Hartz.
Hartz said that there is a real need to serve and support the community. Events like this one, as well as the NICU itself, are just one of many ways that Washington Health aims to do so.
