Community Hospital North hosted its 10th annual neonatal intensive care unit reunion at Conner Prairie in Fishers Aug. 24, providing an opportunity for former NICU babies and their families to reconnect with caregivers who helped give them a healthy start as newborns.
According to an announcement from Community Hospital North, 500 families were invited to the celebration.
“When babies are born prematurely, with a health condition or through a difficult birth they are cared for in the NICU,” the announcement stated. “Community Hospital North offers Level III care for infants with the highest needs due to complex or severe illness. That care can last from days to weeks, even months. This experience often creates a special bond between parents and the caregivers.”
The annual NICU reunion helps maintain that bond. Caregivers get a progress report from parents and can see for themselves how their former patients are growing up.
“We look forward to this event every year that allows our caregivers the opportunity to see what long term impact they had on the lives of these babies,” stated Jamie Phillippe, Community Hospital North Chief Nurse Executive. “There is nothing better than to see a toddler running round that started out weighing less than a pound. This reunion is a way to not only say thank you for giving us the opportunity to care for your baby when you needed us most, but also to show that they have not been forgotten once they left the building.”
The announcement stated that Community Hospital North in Lawrence Township has delivered more babies overall than any other Indiana hospital, according to the most recently available Indiana Department of Health data. The data shows the hospital delivered 4,032 babies in 2022, including 83 sets of twins.
