December 27, 2022 – The holidays are a special time of year, and for some parents, they get an extra special gift of having a baby. Whether a newborn baby is in the hospital briefly and goes home with mom, or has a longer stay in a neonatal ICU, many Intermountain Healthcare nurses help bring holiday cheer to families during their baby’s hospital stay.
At many Intermountain hospitals in Utah and Idaho, nurses wrap babies in the nursery in Christmas stockings and give the parents the stocking as a memento. For babies in the neonatal ICU, some nurses dress up as Santa and hold those tiny babies on their lap for a photo opportunity. And some hospitals with children’s units have Santa make a visit to older children.
Intermountain Healthcare has 21 hospitals in Utah that deliver babies and offer various levels of neonatal ICU care. Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital also has a neonatal ICU.
More than 24,000 babies have been delivered at Intermountain Hospitals in Utah and southern Idaho from January through November 30 of 2022. About 2,000 more are expected to be delivered throughout December.
Intermountain hospitals have cared for more than 3,100 babies in their neonatal ICUs from January through November of 2022, with another 200 or so expected throughout December. In addition, 375 babies were cared for in the Primary Children’s neonatal ICU from January through November of 2022.