5
That is what Charlie Lindemoen weighed when she was delivered by
emergency cesarean at Virtua Voorhees due to a lack of blood flow and
nutrients in the womb.
Mom Jodi barely had a chance to see her little girl before
she was taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
to receive around–the–clock care.
“I didn’t even touch her until she was a week old. I was too
afraid and felt it would mean there was a better chance that
she would not develop an infection,” said Jodi.
Eventually, Jodi was able to hold Charlie for three hours
straight almost daily during the remainder of her 90-day
stay in the NICU.
“Nothing about having a child and having them go into the
NICU is natural,” said Jodi. “But, the staff, the nurses and
the doctors there were absolutely wonderful. They took
the best care of her and today she is healthy and
developmentally on track.”
With the latest technology in respiratory care, electronic
monitoring and other leading-edge medical therapies for
micro-preemies (babies weighing less than 1 pound) and
newborns with health complications, Virtua delivers life-
saving care, in our Level III McNabb Family Neonatal
Intensive Care Unit at Virtua Voorhees and the Level II
Special Care Nursery at Virtua Memorial.
These units are designed with the family in mind, to provide
a warm and nurturing environment full of light to encourage
babies to grow and thrive.
Thanks to the generosity of donors, many of whomare
former patients, Virtua Foundation proudly helps to
create an enhanced level of comfort to families with very
sick babies.
When Eagles quarterback DonovanMcNabb and his wife
Raquel faced a high-risk pregnancy in 2008, they turned to
Virtua for prenatal care and delivery. Their twins were later
born at Virtua Voorhees and spent time in the NICU. Out of
gratitude for the care his family received, McNabb made a
gift to Virtua Foundation to support the NICU at the new
Virtua Voorhees campus.
The Richardson Family, moved by the special care that
moms and babies need to bond, funded a world-renowned
breast feeding education program for Virtua’s neonatal
nurses. The classes help our nurses support mothers of
NICU babies who often face unique challenges when they
are learning to breastfeed. In recognition of their gift, Virtua
Foundation named a nesting room for James and Shirley
Richardson. A second nesting room in the unit has been
dedicated by grateful families in honor of the caregivers
who have had a powerful impact on their lives.
Family nesting rooms are special places where parents can
privately care for their babies inside the NICU and prepare
to take them home. The rooms are also monitored so
parents have peace of mind knowing that a nurse is just
steps away.
One Pound, OneOunce.
Charlie with her NICU Nurses at three months old, on the day she went home
Charlie age 20 months
