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North Oaks NICU Reunion Scheduled Dec. 5 as “Drive-thru” Event

  • Category: In The News
  • Posted On:
  • Written By: Melanie Lanaux Zaffuto
North Oaks NICU Reunion Scheduled Dec. 5 as “Drive-thru” Event

North Oaks Medical Center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Reunion will look a little different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

North Oaks Medical Center NICU graduates and their families will reunite with the health care professionals who cared for them by “driving-thru” the hospital campus to enjoy traditional event festivities in a reimagined, socially distanced way between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 5.

To RSVP, register online here. At the time of registration, families will get further instructions on check-in procedures and an invitation to join the NICU Reunion Facebook Event to receive special messages and updates.

As guests trek through the hospital campus in their vehicles, they will stop at different stations along the route, where they will receive a “to-go” breakfast, a commemorative gift, a chance to deliver letters to Santa and even take safe photos with him! Caroling with the Livingston Parish Children’s Choirs and a contest to name the best-decorated vehicle also will be among the host of special activities.

NICUs are hospital units that care for babies who are born too early or have serious illnesses. While the babies are in the hospital, families and the hospital staff often form strong bonds.

“We fight so hard for our NICU graduates to leave the hospital and go home to their families as healthy as possible,” explains North Oaks Women & Children’s Services Director Tamara Mitchell. “We become like family, and that is why we are overjoyed to have worked out a way with our infection prevention specialists to continue this precious tradition in such an unprecedented year.”

North Oaks Medical Center has operated a NICU for 29 years. The North Oaks NICU is ranked among the top 25% in the U.S., according to the Vermont-Oxford study in its review of patient outcomes in selected areas.