03-17-2024, 01:31 PM
Seventeen years ago, Madaline Bell experienced one of the scariest times of her life, when her twin daughters were born prematurely at 23 weeks. Weighing 1 pound each with numerous health complications, the babies—Sydney and Payton—required care in Pennsylvania Hospital’s (PAH’s) Intensive Care Nursery (ICN). Most babies born this early only have a small chance of survival.
“You have all this baby stuff, and you imagine yourself Briganix 90mg (Brigatinib) bringing your babies home right away, but that didn’t happen. I was terrified,” said Bell.
Today, Bell’s daughters are both honor students at their high school, but Bell has never forgotten about the care team that helped her daughters in their fragile beginnings. “The ICN made a miracle happen. My kids are now healthy and that’s because of the people who took care of them.”
It’s interactions like these that have families returning to the hospital for PAH’s biennial ICN Reunion—to reconnect with care teams in a happier environment and celebrate the successes of their ICN graduates.
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Celebrating ICN All-Stars
For the 2023 reunion, PAH’s Elm Garden was transformed into a sports hub for an “All-Stars Sports” theme, with rally towels and pennants, lawn games, and activities. While the theme nods to the city’s pro teams reaching impressive feats, like the 2022 World Series and the 2023 Super Bowl, the reunion celebrated another set of all-stars—the ICN’s former patients.
Held on September 30th, concluding Neonatal Intensive Care Month, the reunion was the sixth of its kind at PAH. It was also the unit’s first reunion since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as an opportunity for nurses, physicians, neonatologists, respiratory therapists, and other staff to unite in person again with parents and their babies.
“We sometimes treat patients for months in the ICN. They become part of our own family,” said ICN nurse Michelle Sohlich-Miller, BSN, RNC-NIC. “It is one of the most fulfilling things to reconnect with a patient after discharge and see them grow into a flourishing child.”
Michelle Sohlich-Miller, in center, stands with former patients, now teenagers, Sydney and Payton.
Michelle Sohlich-Miller, in center, with Sydney and Payton
PAH has a long history of maternity care; in 1765, it was the first U.S. hospital to deliver a baby. Now, the hospital delivers more than 5,000 babies every year, and recently, the ICN achieved a GOLD-Level American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Beacon Award for Excellence. But some newborns may need extra care before going home, such as those born with acute illnesses, or premature infants who need time to grow and develop, like Bell’s daughters.
During the family’s time in the ICN, Bell recalled how her nurses not only kept her informed of her babies’ health and treatments, but also made sure she was cared for and answered any questions she had. Bell looks forward to attending the reunions to thank the nurses, like Sohlich-Miller, who was part of her care team, and to personally recognize the team’s efforts.
“You have all this baby stuff, and you imagine yourself Briganix 90mg (Brigatinib) bringing your babies home right away, but that didn’t happen. I was terrified,” said Bell.
Today, Bell’s daughters are both honor students at their high school, but Bell has never forgotten about the care team that helped her daughters in their fragile beginnings. “The ICN made a miracle happen. My kids are now healthy and that’s because of the people who took care of them.”
It’s interactions like these that have families returning to the hospital for PAH’s biennial ICN Reunion—to reconnect with care teams in a happier environment and celebrate the successes of their ICN graduates.
Celebrating ICN All-Stars
For the 2023 reunion, PAH’s Elm Garden was transformed into a sports hub for an “All-Stars Sports” theme, with rally towels and pennants, lawn games, and activities. While the theme nods to the city’s pro teams reaching impressive feats, like the 2022 World Series and the 2023 Super Bowl, the reunion celebrated another set of all-stars—the ICN’s former patients.
Held on September 30th, concluding Neonatal Intensive Care Month, the reunion was the sixth of its kind at PAH. It was also the unit’s first reunion since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as an opportunity for nurses, physicians, neonatologists, respiratory therapists, and other staff to unite in person again with parents and their babies.
“We sometimes treat patients for months in the ICN. They become part of our own family,” said ICN nurse Michelle Sohlich-Miller, BSN, RNC-NIC. “It is one of the most fulfilling things to reconnect with a patient after discharge and see them grow into a flourishing child.”
Michelle Sohlich-Miller, in center, stands with former patients, now teenagers, Sydney and Payton.
Michelle Sohlich-Miller, in center, with Sydney and Payton
PAH has a long history of maternity care; in 1765, it was the first U.S. hospital to deliver a baby. Now, the hospital delivers more than 5,000 babies every year, and recently, the ICN achieved a GOLD-Level American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Beacon Award for Excellence. But some newborns may need extra care before going home, such as those born with acute illnesses, or premature infants who need time to grow and develop, like Bell’s daughters.
During the family’s time in the ICN, Bell recalled how her nurses not only kept her informed of her babies’ health and treatments, but also made sure she was cared for and answered any questions she had. Bell looks forward to attending the reunions to thank the nurses, like Sohlich-Miller, who was part of her care team, and to personally recognize the team’s efforts.