Preemies to Celebrate Holidays at RCRMC Neonatal ICU Reunion

Premature babies, born so small they could be cradled in the palm of a hand, will reunite with healthcare providers who helped save their lives during Riverside County Regional’s First Annual Neonatal ICU Reunion on Saturday, Nov. 29. The free holiday-themed reunion will kick off at 9:30 a.m. at the Riverside Convention Center in downtown Riverside. Activities throughout the morning will include the Polar Playground and time with Santa. The reunion is part of the RCRMC Foundation’s Annual Festival of Trees activities, which support and promote pediatric programs at the hospital. Organizers say the event is open to NICU graduates of all ages. About 100 graduates of RCRMC’s NICU are expected to attend the celebration—most of them younger than kindergarten age. The NICU serves children from all over Riverside County. But grown graduates also plan to attend, to honor the hospital’s 122-year legacy of caring for new mothers and their infant children. Jayne Stratton, 42, a registered nurse at RCRMC, and her twin sister, Michelle Freedland, a nursing student, were born prematurely at Parkview Hospital. The twins were transferred and cared for in the NICU of the county hospital when it was still located in Riverside. Their late mother, Sharon Angrimson, was also a registered nurse at the county hospital. “This reunion is a wonderful opportunity to recognize generations of healthcare professionals who have put thousands of premature and fragile infants – many who would not have otherwise survived– on a pathway to healthy lives,” Stratton said. “Some of those babies, like my sister and me, are committed to carrying on this tradition by caring for patients in our own communities.” Marybeth Maury-Holmes, the NICU nurse manager, said the specialized unit admits between 400 and 500 infants each year. The most common reason for admission is premature birth followed by other issues such as infection. Babies stay in the NICU for an average of 14 days. Maury-Holmes said advancements in neonatal medicine have rewritten the prognosis for babies who arrive even several months before their expected delivery date. “It is exciting and gratifying to see these children doing so well now, especially when we remember that just a short while ago they were tiny and fragile and fighting for their lives,” she said. “That’s one of the best parts of the work we do every day at RCRMC.”