Graduates of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to Reunite
at The Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart
 
PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart invites former patients and families of its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to the annual NICU reunion on Saturday, Oct. 6 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
 
The Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart offers the area’s only Level III NICU. More than 1,000 babies are admitted to the NICU each year, with about 80 percent born prematurely, defined as being born between two and 16 weeks early. The Children’s Hospital maintains two specially equipped mobile neonatal critical care transport ambulances for the transfer of premature and critically ill newborns from other hospitals across Northwest Florida to The Children’s Hospital. The average length of stay in the NICU is 18 days.
 
This annual event is an opportunity for families to reconnect with the nurses, doctors and team members who cared for them throughout their journey, as well as with the other families whom they may have grown close with.
 
NICU reunion guests are invited to dress up in fairy-tale-themed costumes and enjoy games, story time, crafts and snacks, as well as indoor and outdoor play areas.
 
The NICU reunion is free to attend, but families are invited to bring a blanket or book to donate to babies currently in our NICU.
 
The event will be held in the Greenhut Auditorium at Sacred Heart Hospital, located at 5151 N. Ninth Ave. in Pensacola. Guests are advised to use the Ninth Avenue parking garage.
 
For information, call 850-416-1600.
 
The Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart is a 117-bed facility that serves as the only children’s hospital in Northwest Florida. The Children’s Hospital offers a wide range of services to meet all of a child’s medical needs, from a pediatric emergency room and neonatal intensive care unit to pediatric intensive care, cancer care, rehabilitation and a medical staff of more than 120 board-certified physicians across 30 pediatric specialties. The Children’s Hospital provides quality, compassionate care to children, regardless of their parents’ ability to pay. For more information about the services available at The Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart, visit studerfamilychildrenshospital.com.
 
About Sacred Heart Health System
In Florida, Ascension operates Sacred Heart Health based in Pensacola and St. Vincent’s HealthCare based in Jacksonville.  Together, Ascension operates seven hospitals and more than 100 other sites of care, and they employ nearly 10,000 associates. Across the region, Sacred Heart and St. Vincent’s have served North Florida communities for more than 145 years. In fiscal year 2017, they provided $168 million in community benefit and care of persons living in poverty. Ascension (www.ascension.org) is a faith-based healthcare organization dedicated to transformation through innovation across the continuum of care. As the largest non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system, Ascension is committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. Ascension includes approximately 165,000 associates and 34,000 aligned providers. Ascension’s Healthcare Division operates more than 2,600 sites of care – including 153 hospitals and more than 50 senior living facilities – in 22 states and the District of Columbia. For more information on Sacred Heart Health System, visit www.sacred-heart.org.