The Center for Healthy Families
After days, weeks, or even months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), many babies are healthy enough to go home. Follow-up care is essential to the health of a newborn. At the University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital, infants who spend time in the NICU receive specialized follow-up care after they are discharged. And, when your newborn leaves he or she will receive coordinated follow-up care from the same experts at our Center for Healthy Families. The center uses a multidisciplinary care approach that includes:
- General pediatricians
- Neonatologists
- Nurse educator
- Pediatric social worker
- Registered dietitian
- Occupational therapist
- Physical therapists
- Speech therapist
- Home health nurse
The center also draws on the expertise of other pediatric specialists as needed. The team addresses a host of concerns, including medical and physical needs, development, motor skills, speech, growth, nutrition, and the home environment. Available by pager 24 hours a day, team members also teach parents how to give medications, monitor symptoms, and take other steps to meet their child’s special needs. Sometimes team members even visit the child’s home to help parents and caregivers adapt the physical and emotional environment to support the child’s needs.
One child at a time, one step at a time, the Center for Healthy Families and the University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital NICU apply expertise to give children the best chance for a healthy life.
