WHAT:
Nationwide Children’s Hospital Hosts First Small Baby Reunion
Small baby graduates celebrate with their families and the NICU staff
WHEN:
Sunday, September 12, 2010
1 to 4 p.m.
*1:30 p.m. best media opportunity
WHERE:
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Stecker Auditorium
575 S. 18th St.
Columbus, OH 43205
*Parking available in visitor’s parking garage located at the corner of S. 18th St. and Mooberry Dr.; a media relations rep will meet you at this entrance for escort to event location
WHO:
Small baby graduates, parents, siblings and Nationwide Children’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) staff
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
More than 75 Small Baby graduates and their families are expected to attend Nationwide Children’s Hospital first Small Baby Reunion. The NICU staff will join the celebration as they welcome back the children they once cared for as premature infants. Families will have the chance to share memories with the staff and enjoy a visit from several zoo animals from the Columbus Zoo.
An infant born at less than 27 weeks gestation is considered a Small Baby. These premature babies have survived tremendous odds at Nationwide Children’s thanks in large part to guidelines developed and tested at the bedside.
The Small Baby Guidelines (SBGs), developed by the neonatology team at Nationwide Children’s, provide a uniform, interdisciplinary approach to the family-centered care of extremely premature babies. The guidelines outline care regarding development, nutrition, cardiovascular functioning, infection and other potential health concerns during the first week of these infants’ lives.
A few years ago, the survival rate for babies born at 23 weeks was 10 percent. Today, the survival rate at Nationwide Children’s is 63 percent thanks in large part to the standardized care that the guidelines provide.
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CONTACT PRIOR TO EVENT:
Erin Pope
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Marketing and Public Relations
(614) 355-0495
CONTACT DAY OF EVENT:
Margot Ranney
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
NICU
(614) 378-3686