HEALTH CARE
Dell Children’s Medical Center partners with Hand to Hold to support NICU families
BY SUMAIYA MALIK
in Northwest Austin, and is still based there. The national organization provides support to NICU families at Ascension Seton. The organizations has two dedicated extended sta at the neonatal intensive care unit at Dell Children’s Medical Center who work with the families of the babies with emotional, physical and social needs. Hand to Hold provides this support in English and Spanish at no cost to the families. These sta members are required to be NICU graduate parents who have lived a personal experience, under- stand the challenges and are mental health peer specialists certi ed in Texas. They have also received training around bereavement support, leading support groups and trauma-informed care, said Kelli Kelley, founder and executive director of Hand to Hold. Kelley is also a NICU graduate parent. The neonatal intensive care unit at Dell Children’s Medical Center,
Hand to Hold and Dell Children’s Medical Center announced that they are partnering to provide in-hospital support for neonatal intensive care unit families in Austin. The two organizations made the announcement at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 6 after a successful yearlong pilot program with NICU fam- ilies and sta nding many bene ts from the support provided. “A critical part of the outcome for our babies is family well-being. When we discharge a baby after having walked them through, at times, months and even sometimes over a year of care in an intensive care unit, Hand to Hold is there to be part of their support in the hospital and support once they go home,” said Dr. John Loyd, neonatologist and chief of neonatal care at Dell Children’s Medical Center. Hand to Hold was founded in 2011
Hand to Hold and Dell Children’s Medical Center announced their NICU partnership at a ribbon-cutting at Dell Children’s Medical Center in the Mueller district on Dec. 6.
SUMAIYA MALIK COMMUNITY IMPACT
Hand to Hold is an Austin-based nonpro t organization dedicated to supporting families before, during and after a neonatal intensive care unit stay through family support specialists. Through the partnership, the organization provides the following services: Family care, including grandparents and siblings Peer support from trained parents who have had a child in NICU
Resources for after a NICU stay SOURCE: HAND TO HOLD COMMUNITY IMPACT
Emotional and psychosocial support
Dr. Molly M. Pont, neonatal-perinatal medicine physician at Dell Children’s Medical Center and Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin.
operated by Ascension in Texas, has 32 beds that are almost full all the time, and the unit is expecting to receive 24 more beds in about 10 months, said
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NORTHWEST AUSTIN EDITION • DECEMBER 2022
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