Little Construction Workers Are Kicking Off a Big Renovation Project for a Comprehensive Newborn Care Center at Sinai Hospital

What:  Wearing hard cats and swinging foam sledgehammers, four former NICU patients will be breaking through a paper wall to officially begin a yearlong renovation and expansion project to build an innovative Newborn Care Center as part of the Herman & Walter Samuelson Children's Hospital at Sinai.

This construction crew ranges in age from three to eight years old and spent their first days of life receiving loving care in existing Sinai NICU. Also an important member of the crew is the sister of a little patient who passed away but will always be remembered.

When:  Wednesday, December 4, 2019, 4 - 5 p.m. **
                          
Where: Sinai Hospital 2401 West Belvedere Avenue
      
Why: Sinai is renovating and expanding the existing NICU space and nearby areas to make sure families continue to have the best care in state-of-the-art surroundings. The Newborn Care Center will consist of a larger space for the Jennifer Gandel Kachura Neonatal Intensive Care Unit- which includes a family lounge and five private rooms for parents to stay overnight with their newborns if needed-, a new well-baby nursery for moms who require some quiet time after giving birth and staff offices.

The Jennifer Gandel Kachura Neonatal Intensive Care Unit works with premature and critically ill newborns and is equipped to perform surgical services if needed. The staff also provides emotional support and educates families about providing ongoing care at home. Newborns can spend a few days or several months in the NICU after they are born.

In addition to the construction crew, parents with heartfelt stories to share, members of the NICU Parents' Council, Sinai President Jonathan Ringo and NICU team members will all be on hand for interviews and the wall-breaking.

Refreshments will include graham crackers and juice boxes.
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** Follow Up:  The ceremony was touching and filled with history and excitement about the future. Then the children had a great time breaking through the paper wall.