Care providers from St. Tammany Health System’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit reunited Sunday (Oct. 27) with some of their former patients, the first such reunion held by the Northshore’s leading provider of maternal care since the onset of the COVID pandemic in 2019.
Held at Coquille Park near Covington, the day featured such kid-friendly activities as a petting zoo, a slide, face painting, bubbles, games, and an antique firetruck for use as a photo op.
Also on tap: Lots and lots of smiling, hugging and cuddling.
“Meeting the patients and families again answers the ‘why’ for NICU nursing at St. Tammany Health System,” STHS Director of Women and Children’s Services Suzanne Fraiche said. “It was beautiful weather, and a fun time was had by all!”
Although interrupted by COVID, the health system’s NICU reunions have traditionally been an annual event, in which families that spent time in the NICU over the previous five years are invited back to reconnect with the nurses, nurse practitioners, neonatologists and other providers who cared for them during their stay at the Covington hospital.
“It is exciting to see the kids as they grow and what progress they make year to year,” STHS Assistant Vice President of Women and Children’s Services Cindy Ingram said. “There are many miracles that happen in the NICU, and it is always great to see how much our NICU babies grow and develop.”
Special thanks this year go to St. Tammany Pediatrics for providing a petting zoo; NICU nurses Katherine Howenstine and Ellen Loop, who chaired the Reunion Committee; NICU nurse Rachel Maniscalco, who provided the antique fire truck; and the army of volunteers, including from Archbishop Hannan High School, who helped make the event a success.
The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St. Tammany Health System’s flagship St. Tammany Parish Hospital is a 14-bed, Level II NICU operating as part of the hospital’s New Family Center. Since the hospital’s founding on Dec. 1, 1954, more than 60,000 babies have been born there.