NICU to Home Program

Every year thousands of children and their families in the Yakima Valley depend on services through MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital’s Family Birth Center, Maternal Health Services, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Pediatric Unit, and Children’s Village. Unique to Yakima, the Children’s Village Early Intervention Program developed a NICU to Home program streamlining the resources and services parents need for their high-risk infants as they make the transition from the hospital setting to caring for their child at home.

“Having your baby spend time at the NICU can be terribly traumatic for parents, especially if the baby is going home needing extra support like oxygen or a feeding tube,” Children’s Village Occupational Therapist Mackenzie Franke said. “We are there to support the family as they make the transition to being at home, so they feel as safe and confident as possible in caring for their baby.” 

Babies in the NICU are assessed and begin therapeutic services while they are still inpatient at Yakima Memorial. The NICU is the only neonatal intensive care unit in Central Washington, and without it, families would be in the difficult position of being separated from their newborn as their baby would have to receive care at a hospital in a larger urban area such as Seattle or Spokane.

Based on what the infant needs at the NICU, families are invited to participate in the Early Intervention Program through Children's Village as they are readying to go home. The program brings occupational and speech therapies to the child’s home on a weekly or monthly basis depending on the needs of the child.

“The beauty of the program is that we can provide immediate care,” Mackenzie said. “We already know their baby because we are the therapists at the NICU, and now we can support the family through Children’s Village as they learn their new normal at home.”

Last year, the NICU to Home program served over 20 infants and their families. A team of four therapists and two resource coordinators run the program.

“Lots of NICU babies do just fine,” Mackenzie said. “But for the babies and families who do need us, our NICU to Home model has the ability to revolutionize access to care for the highest-needs children in our community.”