网曝门事件

maternity care

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

For questions about our Maternity services and virtual tours call (323) 260-5849. Pregnant? Our Welcome Baby program provides free virtual and phone support. Call (323) 260-5712 to sign up.

Connecting with patients through tender, loving & quality care

baby-premature-incubator.jpg

The Deras family: Rafael II, father; Abigail, sister; Mayra, mother; and the triplets, Rafael III, Francheska and Jason.

Mayra Deras was close to six months pregnant when she started dilating. Her high-risk pregnancy required her to be transferred to a hospital with a good neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). She was brought to 网曝门事件 Health White Memorial.

网曝门事件 Health White Memorial has a level III NICU 鈥撯 the highest level. This means we have the capability of providing medical care to even the smallest of babies. In fact, a good number of babies in our NICU are transferred here from other hospitals.

At 网曝门事件 Health White Memorial, Deras remained in full-rest position close to a month while the hospital鈥檚 labor and delivery staff remained on standby. Finally, the moment came: Deras reached full dilation, and an emergency C-section had to be performed.

Deras remembers giving birth in a room full of observers made up of family medicine doctors and residents. 网曝门事件 Health White Memorial is a teaching medical center, and this was, after all, a very special birth that books alone couldn鈥檛 teach.

On October 23, 1992, Rafael III, Francheska and Jason Deras were born prematurely. The babies鈥 small frames could be sustained without artificial respiration, but they had to remain in NICU until they reached their full term. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard for a mother to understand why she鈥檚 going home and not her children,鈥 said Deras.

Deras began a three-month daily commute to 网曝门事件 Health White Memorial. On weekends, Rafael II, her husband, and her then 8-year-old daughter, Abigail, would visit as a family. Those three months were also the beginning of a strong connection between the Deras family and the NICU nurses who cared for their babies.

鈥淭hey listened and were very understanding,鈥 acknowledged Deras. 鈥淭hey understood I had another child, and they took extra care of the babies when I wasn鈥檛 around. I communicated to the nurses to make sure the triplets got fed at different times, and they did.鈥

Little Rafael, Francheska and Jason went home three days before Christmas, leaving a priceless present for the NICU nurses and the entire medical center 鈥撯 their friendship. Today, after almost 12 years, the Deras family continues to visit the NICU nurses. A majority of the 1992 staff are still with 网曝门事件 Health White Memorial.

Since the opening of the unit on January 1, 1978, 网曝门事件 Health White Memorial鈥檚 NICU has always experienced a very low employee turnover. 鈥淭he longevity of the nurses in the unit ranges close to 30 years,鈥 said Anna Clausen, NICU manager. 鈥淭hat speaks volumes about the staff鈥檚 commitment and love for what they do.鈥

鈥淲e are a family,鈥 said Alice Rubio, unit secretary, proudly. Rubio was also NICU staff when the Deras triplets were here. 鈥淲e know and care about each other,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t takes good people to take care of babies.鈥

It鈥檚 that caring and loving family atmosphere that the Deras family fell in love with 11 years ago, and it鈥檚 what keeps bringing them back to visit. 鈥淲orking in NICU can really affect the nurses,鈥 recognized Deras. 鈥淪ome stories are successful and others are not. Visiting them is a way to keep their spirits up and make them see their work is not in vain.鈥

Caring for such small and fragile human beings can be emotionally involving for the nurses. They get attached to the babies, and losing one is like losing one of their own. That鈥檚 why the Deras family visits are so important to the staff. 鈥淚t鈥檚 rewarding when parents bring them back,鈥 said Rubio. 鈥淲e are happy to see them,鈥 said Angie Cabos, RN.

The Deras are one of several families with former NICU babies who continue to visit the NICU staff. The babies are now children, teenagers and adults, but they share such a tremendous love and gratitude for the work of the NICU staff that they鈥檝e become a family within a family.

Several photos of the Deras triplets鈥 visits are posted outside the NICU, helping account for a truly successful story. Quality care and excellent customer service fostered the Deras鈥 appreciation, loyalty and gratitude. 鈥溚孛攀录 Health White Memorial is a good medical center with great nurses,鈥 affirmed Deras.

The NICU staff鈥檚 quality care and excellent customer service made an unforgettable 鈥渨ow鈥 moment for the Deras family that, after giving birth, Deras volunteered for a while as a translator at 网曝门事件 Health White Memorial. Her experience here was so positive that today she works in the admitting department of a hospital close to home. Perhaps the biggest 鈥渨ow鈥 moment was bestowed on little Rafael, who begins to voice an interest in becoming a 鈥渄octor for babies.鈥

The Deras family wishes to express a very special thank you to the NICU staff.

For questions about our Maternity services and virtual tours call (323) 260-5849.
Pregnant? Our Welcome Baby program provides free virtual and phone support. Call (323) 260-5712 to sign up.