10-12-2024 4:34am

Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital to Host Reunion of NICU Families and Caregivers

Lesley Misko Editor

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. On Sunday, Oct. 13, dozens of local families will reunite with Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) caregivers and other NICU families at Lone Lane Park in Upper Macungie Township from 1-3 p.m. More than 100 children and adults are expected to attend.

LVHN’s NICU reunion brings together NICU families, many of whom spend weeks, if not months, on the unit, and caregivers who provide specialized and personalized care. This year’s event will join babies and their families who were born at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital and who received care in the NICU in 2023.

The first LVHN NICU reunion was hosted in 2010. The reunion was paused during the pandemic and returned in 2022. LVHN’s NICU is part of Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital.

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Lehigh Valley Children's Hospital Partners with "Today Is a Good Day" program
The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is not where new parents envision their newborn spending the beginning of their lives. But parents can rest assured that, at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital, their whole family is in the best of hands.

The Children’s Hospital’s Level IV NICU, located at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest, provides the highest level of intensive care, capable of providing exceptional, lifesaving care to the smallest and sickest babies. Not only that, the Children’s Hospital’s partnership with Today is a Good Day (TIAGD) ensures families in the NICU receive the support they need. Today is a Good Day program helps families navigate the NICU journey, one miracle at a time.

Founded in 2014 by a family who lived through the NICU journey, TIAGD is a program designed specifically for families in the NICU that provides a haven of emotional support and financial resources for families navigating the NICU.

"Today is a Good Day is a wonderful nonprofit founded by two parents who had NICU babies, and provides families in the NICU with the support they truly need,” says Jillian Intelisano, RN, a neonatal nurse in the Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital NICU. “Many of our families in the NICU have support systems outside of the hospital, which is great. However, unless they have experienced the NICU journey for themselves, these friends and family members can only sympathize with them, not empathize. Because the founders of Today is a Good Day have stood in these families’ shoes, this organization is able to provide the type of support it knows these families need.”

TIAGD’s vision is for a world where every family who experiences the NICU feels supported throughout their journey. This organization provides families with several resources, including:

Care packages for families

Families admitted to the NICU with a premature or sick baby are overwhelmed with emotions, paperwork and difficult decisions. TIAGD’s care packages include tangible and meaningful items as well as personal stories from families who have experienced the NICU to remind them in an isolated-feeling situation that they are not alone.

“These care packages our NICU families receive are so thoughtfully crafted,” Intelisano says. “One thing that’s really special and important is that there is always a congratulations card in every bag. A lot of the babies we see in the NICU are born young or sick, which means they are rushed to the NICU right away and the parents don’t get that time or opportunity to celebrate the birth. It’s a moment these families deserve because every baby deserves to be celebrated.”

Support-group meetings

Held monthly, a support group provides opportunities for parents currently navigating the NICU to share their journey, meet a NICU graduate and, most importantly, connect with others who understand their current experience.“The meetings are very helpful for our families as experiencing the NICU can be very isolating,” Intelisano says. “What’s helpful about this support group is that it’s run by a parent who had a child in the NICU, so they understand these families’ situation from an ‘I’ve stood in your shoes perspective’ – and that really makes a difference.”

Financial assistance

The financial need can be significant and stressful for families navigating the NICU journey. Financial grants cover costs including, but not limited to:

Car seats
Pack-n-plays
Baby supplies
Transportation to and from the hospital
Meals
Funeral expenses
Utility bills
Rent
Additional items a family may need during their NICU journey

About Jefferson
Lehigh Valley Health Network is now proudly part of Jefferson Health. Nationally ranked, Jefferson, which is principally located in the greater Philadelphia region, Lehigh Valley and Northeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, is reimagining health care and higher education to create unparalleled value. Jefferson is more than 65,000 people strong, dedicated to providing the highest-quality, compassionate clinical care for patients; making our communities healthier and stronger; preparing tomorrow's professional leaders for 21st-century careers; and creating new knowledge through basic/programmatic, clinical and applied research. Thomas Jefferson University, home of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Jefferson College of Nursing, and the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering and Commerce, dates back to 1824 and today comprises 10 colleges and three schools offering 200+ undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 8,300 students. Jefferson Health, nationally ranked as one of the top 15 not-for-profit health care systems in the country and the largest provider in the Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley areas, serves patients through millions of encounters each year at 32 hospitals and more than 700 outpatient and urgent care locations throughout the region. Jefferson Health Plans is a not-for-profit managed health care organization providing a broad range of health coverage options in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for more than 35 years.