Christmas came early at Bryan Health’s (bryanhealth.com) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit last month. Santa Claus paid a visit to each room and brought gifts for the littlest patients and their families. Santa was assisted by a NICU nurse dressed as an elf.
“It’s just really special to bring the magic of Christmas to them, especially to the little ones since it’s their first Christmas,” said Santa. “Just being here and bringing the magic of the North Pole just does wonders.”
Alex White is a nurse that cares for the babies and said the day had become a holiday tradition. “It’s so nice to see the parents light up, all the staff lights up, it just bring a little bit of holiday and fun to the NICU,” said White.
White calls what she does the best job ever. “Just spending that extra time with them because we know it’s a long journey and it’s a lot on the parents,” White said. “Mental health is really important so anything we can do to be family to them is very important to us too. It’s really fulfilling.”
Faith Niles gave birth to her son Bo three months ago, but he was supposed to be born on January 20. For parents like Faith, spending her son’s first Christmas in the hospital can be difficult, but bringing holiday cheer to the NICU helps.
White says there were no shortage of patients for Santa to visit. “We were up to 30 babies for a little bit,” White said.
The NICU at Bryan Health opened in 2008 and has since cared for thousands of premature babies and their families. Learn more about Bryan Health at bryanhealth.com.
Strictly Business recognizes this as the authorship of Tom Stanton of KLIN.