

NICU Reunion

St. Mary Celebrates Advances in
Neonatal Care
There’s no denying the miracles of modern medicine, especially when it
comes to caring for the tiniest and most critically ill newborn patients
in the St. Mary Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Just ask Prem
Marlapudi, MD, Medical Director of the NICU, who has been with the unit
since it opened in 1989 and has seen many advances in neonatal care during
the past 20 years. "We are proud of the NICU and are particularly proud
of our mortality, morbidity, and infection rates, which are very low
compared to NICUs of the same level nationally," notes Marlapudi. "Yet we
are most proud of our patients and the incredible progress that they make
during their time in the NICU and especially once they go home with their
families. Our patients become like family, and we frequently have parents
stop by to visit us and bring in their now healthy children to show us how
far they have come." |

NICU Reunion
Photo Show | It’s these amazing
advances — and the healthy children and young adults who overcame the odds —
that St. Mary celebrated during its Precious Pumpkins Picnic – NICU 20th
Anniversary Reunion on October 24. The event, held from 11 am to 2 pm
in the St. Mary Child Development Center, brought together former NICU patients
and their families, physicians, nurses, colleagues, volunteers, and the
community to recognize the high-quality care provided by the St. Mary NICU.
One of the first patients to benefit from the NICU’s highly specialized
care is now 20-year-old college sophomore Patrick Donohue, who was born at 33
weeks gestation, unable to breathe on his own due to severely underdeveloped
lungs. He is the son of St. Mary’s Director of Marketing and Communications
Patrick Donohue, who still recalls those terrifying early struggles in his son’s
life. "At that time, the medication to help under-developed lungs was not
FDA-approved, which it is now. Back then, when a baby was born six weeks early
and weighing 5.5 pounds, it was considered life-threatening. Now, however, the
expert physicians, nurses, and staff, along with advances in medicine, enable us
to save the lives of patients born even more prematurely and weighing less than
a pound," the senior Donohue says. The younger Donohue, a dean’s list student,
was one of several speakers during the NICU reunion. “I am truly thankful that I
have been able to live my life without medical complications. The lungs that
were once in question have allowed me to wrestle for 13 years; they also have
allowed me to excel in many other sports throughout my life,” he shared with the
audience.
Joining in the celebration were speaker Annisha Zegarski, with
her husband, Michael, and their daughter, Sunny, who was born at 30 weeks
gestation in 2007 and spent 58 days in the NICU; Marie Schickler, RNC, Director
of Nursing/Maternal–Child Health and Medical–Surgical Units; and Patty Crocker,
Nurse Manager, Obstetrics/Gynecology and Nurseries. "It was thrilling to hear
the many success stories over the years and to see the outpouring of love and
gratitude from the parents in regards to the care their children
received,"Schickler says. "Without the expertise and dedication of our staff,
and St. Mary’s commitment to providing 24-hour neonatal care for the community,
we could not have made these miracles happen."
Through the Decades: Advances in
Neonatal Care at St. Mary Soon after opening, the NICU became
the first in the area to use surfactant therapy to help premature infants with
respiratory problems.
- In the 1990s, another major advancement came with the use of a
high-frequency ventilation protocol for premature infants that helped lessen
the trauma to a baby’s lungs when receiving treatment.
- Today, our NICU is a six-bed unit with an additional six beds in its
transitional nursery that is used for babies undergoing longer-term care. It
also includes a private home-like visiting area for families.
- Our state-of-the-art NICU is staffed by board-certified neonatologists
(physicians specially trained in high-risk newborn care) and nurses fully
trained in neonatal medicine, including neonatal CPR.
- In April 2009, the St. Mary NICU became the first neonatal intensive care
unit in Bucks County to have board-certified neonatologists in-house 24 hours
a day, seven days a week. Additionally, recently purchased warmer beds
incorporate the latest in monitoring technology and equipment.
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