2022
Year in Review
For the Neonatal Comfort Care Program, 2022 was a year of growth. This is, of course, with the generous support of our donors.
Growth in Outreach—80 families have been served with over 600 encounters… and counting! An increase by more than 35% from 2021. Our dedication to families remains through their entire journey of pregnancy, delivery and beyond.
Fran McCarthy, RN has been integral in the development of a cross-campus policy on perinatal loss— helping providers and families navigate hardship.
Growth in Number—Social Worker Lisette Esquilin-Rigby and Nurse Aylin Kenis joined our team in 2022. With them on board, we have been able to greatly expand the services offered to our deserving families. We also expanded our multidisciplinary network of partnering providers, making sure that communication and collaboration are central to our patients’ care.
Growth in Education— the 2022 Next-Level Perinatal Palliative Care Training Course was a spectacular production. Partnering with Awakened Films, Inc., our teachings were viewed by over 200 participants in 18 countries and 34 U.S. States. Our participants included physicians, nurses, social workers, psychologists, and many other interdisciplinary team members eager to learn. A participant’s review truly captured our intent “the perinatal palliative care conference has provided me with an unbiased and holistic approach to taking care of our little ones with the emphasis of human condition and compassion to be the forefront of medicine.”
Dr. Parravicini has been a guest speaker at 12 conferences, sharing her expertise and the mission of the Neonatal Comfort Care Program across the globe— from the USA, to Colombia, to Italy. She is dedicated to excellent patient care everywhere!
Fran and Aylin have provided nursing education to Neonatal Intensive Care and Post-Partum nurses. They have guided the creation of bereavement committees on in-patient units to equip nurses with invaluable knowledge and resources in the face of loss.
Growth in Achievements—Our beloved nurse Fran received the “2023 Ilene Beal Courageous Provider Award” that honors a pediatric provider who provides exceptional family-centered care in circumstances of serious illness. This award highlights her compassion, empathy, and commitment to families facing illness and loss.
Fran’s chapter “Suffering in Infants, Parents and Families” is expected to be published in “The Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Nursing” in August of 2023.
Dr. Parravicini’s research on “Assessment of learning transfer with virtual training” will be published in Frontiers of Pediatrics.
We reflect on 2022 with full hearts and immense gratitude for the opportunity to continue serving our precious families. We hope that 2023 brings more growth and look forward to another year. We wish you all a joyous holiday season and Happy New Year!
With Love,
The Neonatal Comfort Care Program