They're words of encouragement that mean the world to parents waiting to take their little ones home. "When I do interact with the parents, I can say, 'My boy was here, and he's the tallest guy in the family now, and it turns out fine,'" Christou said. ![]() Parents like Christou can also offer insight and empathy. So I thought, 'Oh, here, it's a baby fix for me and a service for the babies.'" You want to be both places at the same time. I need another baby to cuddle.' I can still remember what it was like to have him here and a toddler at home. "When he was about 10, I heard about the program and said, 'I want to go. "My second son was a NICU patient," Christou said. Using their experiences and cuddling skills, they’re able to provide parents with a sense of relief and security. Part of what makes the cuddler program at Rush special is that many of the volunteers are parents who have had kids in the NICU themselves. We're good.' So we both kind of calmed down, and then it was back to just snuggling." "I sat down with this little guy, and he starts up and I'm like, 'Oh, my gosh. “I was nervous coming back after the pandemic," said Thea Christou, a volunteer cuddler. "We brought back our eight core cuddlers - the ones who have been here 25, 30 years - and then slowly added on our student cuddlers," Fredericks said. The Chicago couple said reading books helped them bond with their son who was in the NICU for the first five months of his life. Like many hospitals around the country, Rush temporarily suspended its cuddler program during the COVID-19 pandemic. It resumed after health officials signaled it was safe. That really does stimulate parts of the brain. "'How are you today? What would you like to have for breakfast?' Just kind of ask them questions in a joyful tone. "We had a brilliant psychologist here who talked about how to talk to babies, that you should ask them questions," Fredericks said. But we want to lessen that by letting them know that we have someone that has trained, is educated, is screened."Īfter undergoing extensive training, these volunteer cuddlers step in to hold, rock, sing, read and just talk to the little ones - interactions that studies show help reduce infant stress, pain, and aid in improving their overall physical health. "The whole idea of families can't be here all the time, and we understand that, and we know they feel terrible when they can't be here all the time. "We saw a need: the fact that we could not expect families to be here all the time, and the babies had needs 24/7," said Judy Fredericks, NICU cuddler program coordinator and wellness liaison for the Rush Center For Clinical Wellness. When families are away from the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU, volunteers comfort infants by giving them a good cuddle. RUSH reaches out to the Chicago community through offerings such as the RUSH Community Services Initiatives Program, an umbrella for several student-led outreach programs designed to address the social and health care needs of residents in neighboring communities.When it comes to infants, many claim to be baby whisperers, but only a few truly have the magic touch.įor over 35 years, Rush University Medical Center in Chicago has been helping infant patients and their families through a volunteer cuddler program. In addition to its mission in patient care, education and research, the Medical Center maintains a strong commitment to the community. The Medical Center also offers more than 70 highly selective residency and fellowship programs in medical and surgical specialties and subspecialties. Today, RUSH is a thriving center for basic and clinical research, with physicians and scientists involved in hundreds of research projects developing and testing the effectiveness and safety of new therapies and medical devices. For more than 180 years, the Medical Center has been leading the way in developing innovative and often life-saving treatments. ![]() Bowman Health Center and RUSH University. RUSH University Medical Center is an academic medical center that includes a 671-bed hospital serving adults and children, the 61-bed Johnston R.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |