Annual Party Reunites Former NICU Patients, Families with Health Care Providers

Nearly 100 children and over 200 of their guests recently put on their holiday finery to attend an annual reunion hosted for them by the staff of North Oaks Medical Center as former patients of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

The free event was held Saturday, December 2 from 9-11 a.m. in the E. Brent Dufreche Conference Center, which is located in North Oaks Diagnostic Center in Hammond. Guests ranged in age from infants no more than a few weeks old to pre-teens.

Sometimes, a baby is born prematurely or with a health condition that requires admission to an NICU. For some of the children honored, they began their life with an NICU stay that may have lasted for only a few days. For others, their stay may have been as long as 6 months.

“With such long lengths of stay, our staff members become very attached to the babies and their families and, likewise, the families to our staff,” explains Critical Care Services Director Janet Morse, RN. “This annual reunion is therapeutic in that it gives the families a chance to rekindle the bond they shared with our staff and celebrate their children’s developmental milestones from year to year.”

There were 26 North Oaks employees and volunteers who gave of their time outside of regular working hours to host the event. Three members of the Ponchatoula Chapter of Threads of Love also volunteered their time to the event. The event featured holiday music, face painting and refreshments, and each child received a keepsake photo with Santa Claus and an age-appropriate book thanks to partnerships with Albertson’s, the North Oaks Medical Center Guild, Greg Randon Studios and the Hammond and Ponchatoula Kiwanis Clubs.

The North Oaks NICU has earned the rank of being among the top 25 percent of such facilities in the US, according to the prestigious Vermont Oxford Study in their review of patient outcomes in selected areas. North Oaks Medical Center has operated an NICU since 1991.

For more information on North Oaks Medical Center’s NICU or any of its Maternal/Child Services—including: Labor/Delivery/Recovery Suites, a Well Baby Nursery, Intermediate Care Nursery, Pediatric Unit, Fetal Medicine Clinic, prenatal education class series, car seat safety checks, lactation consultation, and physical and occupational therapy services, as well as Wellness exercise classes for expectant and new mothers—please call (985) 230-6647.

Then - The Fulton triplets made headlines in March 2006 as the first set of triplets born at North Oaks Medical Center in more than a decade. Pictured, from left, in a photo taken by Kari Wheeler of the Daily Star are Lila, Robert and Leigh Fulton cradled in the arms of their parents Denise and Rhett Fulton of Hammond. The triplets were born early at 33 weeks and 3 days gestation. Lila weighed 4 lbs., 8.3 oz. and measured 18 inches long, Robert weighed 4 lbs., 0.2 oz. and measured 16.5 inches long, and Leigh weighed 4 lbs., 5 oz. and measured 17 inches long. Lila was required to stay in the NICU for 2 days and Intermediate Care Nursery for 2 weeks, while Leigh stayed in the NICU for 9 days and Intermediate Care Nursery for 2 weeks. Robert was in NICU for 1 day and the Intermediate Care Nursery for 2 1/2 weeks.

Now - The Fulton triplets, now 8 months old, and their parents were among guests at the annual North Oaks NICU Reunion on Saturday, December 2. Lila now weighs 16 lbs., 3 oz.; Leigh weighs 17 lbs., 9 oz.; and Robert weighs 19 lbs. The Fulton family had the chance to reunite with the Mitchell family of Tickfaw, whom they came to know during their babies’ stays in the Intermediate Care Nursery. Pictured, clockwise from left, are Rhett, Denise and Lila Fulton, LaKaren, Maliya and Michael Mitchell, and Leigh and Robert Fulton. Baby Maliya Mitchell was born 3 months early at 27 weeks, weighing 1 lb., 11 oz. She stayed in the nurseries at North Oaks for 2 1/2 months. She now weighs 16 1/2 pounds.

From right, 11-year-old Jani Huber of Kentwood shares her wish for a reindeer snow globe to add to her collection with Santa Claus at the North Oaks NICU Reunion on December 2. Huber is a fifth-grade student at Spring Creek Elementary School. She was born nearly 3 months early, weighing 2 lbs., 2 oz. She stayed in the NICU at North Oaks for 2 months before going home.

From left, Neonatologist Ivan Villalta, MD, visits with Brian, Melissa and Gabriel Rivero of Ponchatoula. Now 10 months old, Gabriel is a former patient of the NICU at North Oaks Medical Center. He was born 6 weeks early weighing 4 lbs., 11 oz. and stayed in the NICU for 1 week. His mom reports that he is now keeping in the median weight range for his true age. “We were hoping to run into Dr. Villalta today; the entire staff was wonderful during Gabriel’s stay,” she comments. Brian is currently serving on active duty with the U.S. Marines based in New Orleans.