(Madera, California) – Valley Children’s Hospital hosted four decades of the tiniest miracles at the 40th Annual NICU Graduate Picnic on Saturday, October 5. The picnic provides an opportunity for former NICU patients and their families to catch up with nurses, doctors, staff and volunteers. Many healthy and energetic children who were once some of our tiniest patients enjoyed a complimentary lunch, activities and fun.
This tradition began in 1979 at Roeding Park in Fresno and was pioneered by a committed group of nurses and social workers. In recent years, it has moved to the Valley Children's Hospital campus in Madera.
Every year, Valley Children’s NICU admits nearly 900 of the tiniest, critically ill patients who face serious and/or potentially lifelong or deadly challenges due to extreme prematurity, congenital defects, injury, chronic illness and more. Valley Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Madera is the region’s only NICU certified by the state of California as a Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit – the highest level possible. It is also Central California’s only Level IV NICU, meaning it meets the highest standards set by the American Academy of Pediatrics and is staffed and equipped to provide expert care for the smallest and most critically ill babies.
In addition to the Level IV NICU at Valley Children’s Hospital, Valley Children’s pediatric specialists, nurses and staff also care for babies in the NICUs at Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, Kaweah Delta in Visalia, Mercy Medical Center in Merced and Adventist Medical Center in Hanford.
Learn more about Valley Children’s NICU services at valleychildrens.org/nicu.