Story Time at the NICU Reunion
The annual neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) reunion took place on Saturday, August 24 in the Mountain View conference center.
Ninety-three families – 335 children and parents – attended the celebratory event and the conference rooms were filled with joyful chaos. NICU doctors and nurses warmly greeted the parents and children, thrilled to see the once fragile newborns growing and thriving. The theme was “under the sea” and there were lots of activities and places to explore for the little ones.
A story hour nook was set up at one end of the conference space, and children’s book author and illustrator Cindy Derby enchanted the youngsters with puppets and silly voices as she read from her books throughout the afternoon. Story time with Cindy was made possible thanks to the sponsorship of donors Judie and Peter Wolken, who made a gift to El Camino Health Foundation to underwrite the NICU’s Reach Out And Read (R.O.A.R.) program. R.O.A.R. encourages parents to read to their babies while in the NICU and after they go home to promote cognitive development and strengthen bonding.
