Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital is the first in Fort Bend to offer parents of hospitalized newborns a unique education and support program created by the March of Dimes.
The NICU Family Support® program provides parents of babies in the neonatal intensive care unit access to a broad range of tailored information and assistance to help them cope with the stress and uncertainty of hospitalization. Local partner Schlumberger provided the funding to ensure that parents of babies in Houston Methodist Sugar Land’s NICU can participate free of charge.
Officials from the March of Dimes and Schlumberger joined Houston Methodist Sugar Land administrators and NICU staff at a formal launch celebration in January. Joining them was a family that had participated in the hospital’s pilot of the NICU Family Support program.
“Most parents expect to take their newborn baby home from the hospital a few days after delivery,” said Chris Siebenaler, regional senior vice president and CEO of Houston Methodist Sugar Land. “Seeing your baby in the NICU, dependent on medical equipment, undergoing procedures and in some cases, fighting for their lives, can be traumatic. Thanks to the NICU Family Support program, parents at Houston Methodist Sugar Land can now access a proven program that helps make this challenging experience easier and gives them the tools and confidence they need. We’re proud to partner with the March of Dimes and Schlumberger to offer this valuable program to our NICU families.”
The NICU Family Support program includes a full curriculum of classes that cover topics of importance to families of hospitalized infants, who often have specialized medical needs. Content is customized for families depending on the baby’s length of stay in the NICU to ensure that it is applicable.
All materials, which are available in both English and Spanish, include award-winning health education content as well as personal stories from families who have lived the NICU experience.
In addition, the program includes the My NICU Baby® app and the Spanish counterpart, Mi Bebé en la NICU, which provides trusted information, resources and support available on parents’ phones.
The app includes information on diagnoses, treatment, equipment, staff roles and more, along with educational videos and tracking tools designed to help parents see their baby’s progress in areas such as weight gain. It also provides support for moms keeping track of pumping and breastfeeding sessions.
As part of the program, March of Dimes will provide ongoing training and support to Houston Methodist Sugar Land’s NICU staff, with a focus on applying family-centered care and patient experience principles. Continuing education topics cover 13 areas of content, from caring for families experiencing a loss and staff self-care to caring for the medically complex child at home.
March of Dimes created the NICU Family Support program to empower parents to be active caregivers while their baby is in the NICU and encourage them throughout their journey. The program educates families, enhances the skills of health care staff and improves the NICU experience. Each year, more than 50,000 families at 69 hospitals across the country benefit from the NICU Family Support program.
Over the past three years, Fort Bend companies and residents have raised more than $1 million for the March of Dimes, with Schlumberger and its employees serving as a signature partner of the organization’s annual March for Babies fundraiser.
“This program is just one example of the many ways that March of Dimes works on behalf of healthy babies and their moms,” said Siebenaler. “Donations and support from local companies and individuals really do make a difference in our community.”
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