Medical personnel and parents had a special day on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where doctors and other experts relocated tiny babies from their temporary facility to the hospital’s newly expanded and renovated neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Nurse Joan Hett and respiratory therapist Mary Anne Joaquin were among those helping move the infants, making sure that one-month-old Daleena Rincon, born premature, was carefully transferred to Daleena’s new bed. Meanwhile, Dr. Jaclyn Kappico examined another preemie, Julian, as his mother Stephanie Torres of Simi Valley looked on. Her son was born at 27 weeks, and has been in an incubator for nearly a month.
The decision to expand the NICU was prompted by frequent overcrowding of the 12-bed NICU at Providence Holy Cross which opened well over a decade ago. By adding six new beds to the neonatal intensive care unit, the hospital now has 18 beds for preemies.
The expansion will enable the hospital to provide specialized care for newborns without needing to transfer them to other San Fernando Valley hospitals, and will let new mothers remain at Providence Holy Cross during their recoveries.
Read the full article here