It’s a Preemie Family Reunion at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center

May 29, 2008

WHAT: A reunion to celebrate the lives of Providence St. Vincent Medical Center’s tiniest patients, with the premature babies and their parents as guests of honor.

WHEN: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday, June 1

WHERE: Providence St. Vincent Medical Center
9205 S.W. Barnes Road, Portland
East Pavilion Lobby/Souther Auditorium (by the fountain)

DETAILS: Thousands of invitations have been sent to the families of infants who were cared for in the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) since it opened in 1995. The preemie reunion organizers anticipate a crowd of nearly 1,000. This year’s theme is “A Pirate Adventure.”

The afternoon offers a chance for parents of these special babies to meet other parents of preemies and to share experiences and advice. It also allows the NICU staff to reunite with some of the children they have cared for and to see how they have grown.

Providence St. Vincent Medical Center’s NICU is a state-of-the-art, comprehensive facility that provides advanced respiratory support and surgical services to more than 900 newborns each year.

In 2007, 6,600 babies were born at Providence St. Vincent. That’s about one out of every eight babies born in Oregon – more than any other hospital in the state. Because of the high-risk obstetrical care offered at Providence St. Vincent, nearly 15 percent of all babies born at the hospital are admitted into the NICU.