We are proud to announce the Hand to Hold NICU Hero Award winners for 2024!
The Hand to Hold NICU Hero award recognizes NICU Professionals and NICU Units that deliver outstanding Family Centered Care. NICU Heroes encourage and support the NICU parent’s role as a valued member of the care team. The winners were recognized at our 2024 NICU Mental Health Conference on November 6 & 7. Read all about the winners below!
NICU Hero Individual Award: Dr. Sue Hall.
Dr. Hall is a retired Neonatologist and former NICU Medical Director who began her career as a social worker touching countless families along the way. Dr. Hall stands out among so many because of her keen interest in and support of family-centered care, before Family Centered Care became well-known throughout neonatal and pediatric care. Early on, Dr. Hall recognized that parental presence and active participation in their baby’s care was critical to improving outcomes for babies and their families.
In addition to her work as a practicing neonatologist, Dr. Hall wrote, For the Love of Babies: One Doctor’s Stories About Life in the Neonatal ICU. This book highlights the “all-important needs for parents to maintain hope, and for healthcare professionals to support them” through stories of individual babies and the challenges and triumphs their families face along the way.
In addition to this book, Dr. Hall has authored countless medical journal papers on the importance of Family Centered Care in the NICU and spearheaded an interdisciplinary effort through the National Perinatal Association to develop Recommendations for the Psychosocial Support of NICU Families.
As an outgrowth of that work, she spearheaded the development of My NICU Network and My Perinatal Network, online educational platforms that provide continuing education to perinatal and neonatal healthcare workers about how best to support parents in the care of their babies.
And possibly most importantly, she has invited NICU parents like me and countless others to present in partnership with her at several national conferences, giving NICU parents a real chance to share our insights and wisdom with the broader neonatal community in an effort to improve family-centered care practices across the country.
She is beloved by all in the NICU Community for her work to ensure the care of the family is as important as the care of the baby! She is a true NICU Hero.
NICU Hero Unit Award: El Camino Health, Mountain View, California
Under the leadership and guidance of Malathi Balasundaram, (Mala Thee Ball Ah Sun Dare Umm) MD, attending neonatologist, Family-Centered Care Committee Chair at El Camino Health NICU, and Founder and Co-Chair of the Family-Centered Care Taskforce, El Camino Health has built and sustained a successful and highly impactful Family-Centered Care program leading to better outcomes for babies and families.
In 2017, El Camino Health recognized the need for better family engagement and integration in the care of their babies. Beginning with brainstorming sessions held with the nursing director, nursing manager, NICU medical director, and several attending neonatologists, the team identified the stakeholders to support the formation of the Family-Centered Care Program. The patient experience department, senior hospital administration team, nurses, physicians, and veteran NICU families were important stakeholders included in the development and subsequent sustainability of the program to address specific changes and improvements in the unit.
The nursing director for Maternal Child Health pledged to provide resources and nursing compensation for their time commitment. The Chief Medical Officer committed to compensating physicians’ time by setting up QI goals annually to boost parent satisfaction scores. As financial support is crucial to establishing and sustaining a program in any hospital, the Chief Financial Officer guaranteed financial support.
Many veteran NICU parents enthusiastically joined the committee which led to initial brainstorming sessions focused on identifying the specific needs of parents in the NICU. This collaborative approach was an enlightening experience for the healthcare professionals, as it allowed them to hear firsthand the expectations of the families and past shortcomings in meeting their needs during their NICU stay.
The Family Advisory Council provided clear tasks to undertake, which have since been instrumental in improving overall parent satisfaction scores. Throughout the journey, former NICU families were able to actively partner with clinicians, join the FCC subcommittees, and provide invaluable insights. To implement change the staff had to be fully educated and involved, they accomplished this through staff education and staff appreciation measures.
Over the last seven years, several sub-committees have been created to improve care in the NICU including a Family Advisory Board and many impactful programs including a parent mentor Program, parent comfort, infant massage, discharge education, and so much more!
Initiating and sustaining change in a hospital is truly a team effort and El Camino Health is a shining example of what can happen when everyone comes together for the aligned purpose of improving the delivery of care for NICU families through the lens of Family Centered Care.
Because the El Camino Health NICU embodies the core concepts of Family Centered Care by listening to and honoring family perspectives, knowledge, values, beliefs, and cultural backgrounds in the planning and delivery of care we honor them today with the Hand to Hold NICU Hero Unit Award! In addition to a beautiful plaque they can display in their NICU, El Camino Health also received a $1000 gift card they can use in the Hand to Hold online store where they can purchase educational resources for their unit.