A NICU, or neonatal intensive care unit, stay is never in a parent’s dream birth plan. NICU babies often have to be away from the loving arms of their parents to stay in incubators, sometimes are hooked up to tubes to eat and breathe, and may need additional surgeries before their stay at the NICU is over. NICU stays can last anywhere from days to months.
That is why when babies and their families need to be transferred to the NICU, the staff at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Women & Babies Hospital (WBH) work tirelessly to offer the most advanced care and inspire hope to ease the stress and uncertainty of a NICU stay.
On June 8, Margi Bowers, MSN, MHA, RN, NE-BC, nurse manager at the WBH NICU, and the rest of the unit’s staff unveiled the NICU’s “Wall of Hope,” a tribute to past patients meant to inspire families currently on their NICU journey. The Wall of Hope features former patients, both children and adults, holding a photo from when they were in the NICU, along with short bios of what they enjoy doing now.
Unveiling the “Wall of Hope”
From right, Margi Bowers, MSN, MHA, RN, NE-BC, stands with Manjeet Kaur, MD, her son-in-law Ryan (holding her grandson) who is featured on the Wall of Hope, and her daughter.
“Margi has been planning this project for over three years, and it is so exciting to see her vision come alive,” said Lyndsay Tawney, administrative director of Women’s & Pediatrics at LG Health. “Thanks to community donations to the LG Health Foundation NICU fund, the Wall of Hope features beautiful photos of 26 patients, of all different ages, who are now grown and living healthy lives. For those parents and families that are going through an unexpected or expected NICU admission, it’s a way to inspire them and show them that there is support and positivity out there.”
The families featured on the wall were invited to the unveiling ceremony to see the installation and reflect on their NICU experience. The event felt like a reunion as many past patients and families continue to stay in touch with the staff at the WBH NICU. They even have their own Facebook page through which families connect with each other and their NICU nurses, share birthday photos, and ask for recommendations on common experiences like medical procedures.
Bowers, the initiator of the photo project, said, “It is an inspiration to our current families but I didn’t realize how many people this Wall of Hope would touch outside of those current families. For example, a WBH food service employee stopped me in the hallway one day, and with tears in her eyes said, ‘I had four NICU babies in another state and I can’t tell you what this hallway means to me when I pass through it every day.”’
Bowers’ son-in-law Ryan is featured on the wall and was one of the first babies cared for in the premature nursery when it was at Lancaster General Hospital (LGH) location, before moving to WBH in 2000. Ryan was born at 30 weeks, weighing just 3 pounds 2 ounces, and spent 90 days in the NICU. He was cared for by Manjeet Kaur, MD, who helped establish the first NICU at Lancaster General Hospital in 1980. Ryan now enjoys spending time with family, golfing and fishing.
The Martin Family NICU Story
Justin and Alyssa Martin hold their two daughters Ryann (left) and Maggie (right). Ryann was a NICU baby in 2018 and is featured on the Wall of Hope – her parents call her “their warrior”.
Another family featured on the “Wall of Hope” is the Martin family. Justin and Alyssa Martin had daughter Ryann on July 24, 2018. Ryann was the family’s one surviving triplet and was born at 27 weeks, weighing 1 pound 8 ounces. She spent 85 days in the NICU, followed by a heart surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
When asked about their story, Alyssa Martin shared, “I was at the NICU every day, for most of the day, while Ryann was a patient and the NICU nurses became our family – we call them our “aunties”. The NICU journey is not easy and it’s lifelong, but through it we have made some of our closest relationships.”
Bowers adds, “Each family on the wall has a story. Just like the story of Cayden featured at the entrance—he has a big, toothy smile and you can’t help but smile when you walk into work. These families are why I and my staff do what we do.”
The Relationship Doesn’t Stop When You Go Home
Chase and his parents pose in front of his photo on the “Wall of Hope”. In the photo Chase holds his bear named Melvin who stayed with him during his NICU stay.
At the Wall of Hope ceremony, WBH staff greeted their former patients with hugs and comments on how much they have grown. The reunion of staff and NICU families continued as they perused the hallway, admiring the photos together. “It takes a special kind of nurse to take care of not only the patient but also the families,” commented Geoff Eddowes, senior vice president for WBH Hospital Operations. “Our staff at WBH keeps in touch with you even after your baby is discharged from the NICU and that kind of relationship is unprecedented.”