The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Pennsylvania Hospital provides specialized care for the hospital’s smallest patients, treating newborns who have health problems or were born prematurely.
Parents look forward to the day their baby can be discharged from the hospital, and to commemorate that special day, nurses Jeanette Batschelet, BSN, RN and Katherine Dacono, BSN, RNC-NIC, CNIII, have been making keepsake items.
“Graduating from the NICU is a big deal. We wanted to do something to celebrate this milestone for the baby and their parents,” said Dacono.
For very premature babies born at or before 30 weeks gestation, Batschelet and Dacono create onesies, decorated with “NICU Graduate,” and certificates that display details of a baby’s birth and their footprints. In addition, the NICU nurses create cards with the babies’ footprints for parents.
“Most of our families are here unexpectedly and their babies may be in the unit for a long time. Any joy or kindness our team can bring to these families is so important,” said Alicia Hussey, MSN, RN, NE-BC, nurse manager for the Intensive Care Nursery at PAH.
So far Batschelet and Dacono have created mementos for more than 20 babies. They’ve additionally created onesies in Spanish for Spanish-speaking families and in the future plan to adjust the text accordingly for those who speak other languages.
Said Batschelet, “It doesn’t take much out of our time to do it, but it means the world to the parents.”