Meeting the Need

Each year, Le Bonheur’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit treats hundreds of babies in the 60-bed unit. Le Bonheur serves as the region’s only Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit — the highest level of neonatal care, handling the most complex medical cases — and Shelby County has the highest number of preterm babies in the state of Tennessee.

Most Le Bonheur patients are transferred from another NICU because they need the coordinated care of multiple specialists. Many patients come to the NICU for surgery, chronic lung disease, genetic disorders or other complex illnesses.

Founded in 2004, the unit has provided the highest level of care to thousands of tiny infants throughout the
years and for the last several years has operated at capacity.

In order to treat more babies in need of life-saving care, Le Bonheur recently completed an expansion of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit bringing 14 additional beds to the current 60-bed unit. On March 28, the NICU expansion officially opened with a joyous ribbon-cutting ceremony that signified an important milestone in access to care for babies across the region.

“Advancements in fetal medicine and NICU care have increased survival rates for babies born preterm or with complex congenital anomalies. As a result, NICU use and demand have increased across the region and nationally,” said Le Bonheur President Trey Eubanks, MD, FACS. “This expansion will provide us space and support for this special and unique program that children from throughout the region depend on Le Bonheur for this level of care.”

Included in the NICU expansion is the special Center for Lung Development devoted to babies with pulmonary conditions such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). The average length of stay for a baby in Le Bonheur’s NICU is six weeks, but babies with BPD are often in the NICU for several months and in some cases a year or more.

Mark Weems, MD, medical director of Le Bonheur’s NICU, and his team are hard at work to ensure adequate staff are hired and trained to support the new NICU beds.

“With the NICU expansion, I’m most excited to be able to provide improved access to care for patients,” said Weems. “When we get a call for a Level IV NICU bed, we will be able to provide it faster and more reliably. I’m also excited for BPD patients to have a dedicated space and care team.”

Tre Howell

Cala Taylor was diagnosed with preeclampsia which caused her to go into labor extremely preterm. At 26 weeks gestation in February 2023, Cala and Terry Howell, Jr., welcomed their son, Terry “Tre” Howell, III, who weighed 1lb 10 oz.

Tre was intubated to help him breathe and spent the first four months of his life at his birth hospital, but he needed the expert care only Le Bonheur’s Level IV NICU could provide.

Once 4-month-old Tre arrived at Le Bonheur, he was given noninvasive oxygen and steroids to treat his floppy airway.

“When we first got to Le Bonheur, Dr. Weems made me feel comfortable and did a great job explaining Tre’s care and what to expect,” Cala said.

Tre was diagnosed with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a chronic lung disease often seen in premature babies without fully developed lungs, which is one of the most common conditions for babies in Le Bonheur’s NICU.

To best meet the needs of BPD patients like Tre, a dedicated Center for Lung Development is part of the NICU expansion. Patients receive care from a multidisciplinary team to optimize their growth and development.

Le Bonheur also joined more than 25 other health centers last year as a member of The BPD Collaborative, which focuses on improving the outcomes of infants and children with BPD, and fostering a culture of collaboration around research and practices.

During Tre’s time at Le Bonheur, Cala worked with a case management team to help her understand and process what was happening with her baby, including when he needed surgery to have a G-tube placed so he could eat.

Cala was also able to attend a G-tube class at Le Bonheur and receive specialized training from nurses so she was better prepared to care for Tre at home upon discharge.

After spending the first 13 months of his life in the hospital — nine of those months at Le Bonheur — Tre reached an important milestone that his family had been looking forward to for months. Tre was able to go home for the first time in March 2024.

“We are so grateful for the care Tre received,” Cala said. “Le Bonheur has helped him reach so many milestones that I never thought would be possible. I’m looking forward to seeing him meet many more developmental milestones in the future.”

Tre’s Le Bonheur journey does not end with his discharge. He will receive follow-up care from a pulmonologist and a G-tube specialist to ensure he continues to thrive.

Angel Eye: Webcam keeps families closer to their babies during NICU stays

Welcoming a new baby is a joyous event for a family, yet when a baby has complex medical needs that require time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, families are faced with a host of stressors. Will their baby be ok? Are they able to take time off from work or be away from other children to be at their baby’s bedside? Do they have transportation to get to and from the hospital?

Babies from across the region who are born prematurely or with serious medical needs are often transferred to the only Level IV NICU in the region at Le Bonheur Children’s. Patients can spend several weeks or even months in Le Bonheur’s NICU receiving the critical care they need to survive. While some families of NICU patients live locally in Memphis, many live a few hours or more away.

Thanks to an initial gift from the Manat Foundation, NICU families at Le Bonheur have been able to keep a close watch on their babies even when they can’t be at the hospital.

A NICU webcam called Angel Eye serves parents and families of babies hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) by using technology to improve communication and collaboration of families and providers. Angel Eye allows for a continual video feed from the baby’s bed through a password-protected, HIPAA-compliant website.

With the addition of 14 beds to Le Bonheur’s NICU, the Vinson family wanted to ensure every room in the NICU had Angel Eye because they know firsthand the hardship of having a hospitalized newborn and the difference bedside technology can make.

Jessica and Jason Vinson’s oldest daughter, Rylee, spent time in a local NICU before Le Bonheur’s NICU opened. The Vinsons rarely left Rylee’s bedside, making quick trips to the restroom or to get food.

“When you have a baby in the NICU and can’t be there, you are always worried you will miss something or lose an opportunity to see their doctor,” Jessica said. “By having this Angel Eye technology available, parents can see exactly what is happening and count every breath their child is taking.”

Thanks to a generous gift of funds raised by the Vinson family through their non-profit organization, RIBS/ Rylee’s Run, all 14 new rooms in Le Bonheur’s NICU are equipped with Angel Eye.

Jadence Woods

Lata Woods was shocked when her water broke at only 26 weeks pregnant. She began experiencing contractions two to three minutes apart. Lata contacted her doctor in Memphis, but she was nearly two hours away and went to a local hospital near her Mississippi home.

At the hospital, Lata and her husband, Jeremy, were told she was four centimeters dilated and the baby was in a breach position. Labor was progressing and Lata needed an emergency C-section.

A few hours later, Lata and Jeremy welcomed their daughter, Jadence, who weighed less than 2 pounds. Following her birth, Jadence was unresponsive for several minutes and was immediately transferred to Le Bonheur via ambulance.

In order to save her life, Jadence needed critical care, but due to her C-section delivery, Lata had to remain at the hospital in Mississippi. Lata was scared as her baby left the hospital without her.

At 2 days, Jadence experienced a life-threatening medical event when she had a pulmonary hemorrhage. Thankfully, doctors were able to stabilize her.

“When I got to Le Bonheur, everyone was helpful and understanding,” Lata said. “Having such a small baby is a scary situation, but the nurses and care team made me feel comfortable and got me oriented to the floor and NICU.”

Extremely preterm neonates like Jadence often face multiple complex medical issues that require coordinated care from specialists across several disciplines. In Le Bonheur’s NICU, babies are able to receive the critical care they require. With the opening of additional beds with the new expansion, Le Bonheur will be able to provide even more care to babies in need.

When Mary Gaston, Le Bonheur NICU clinical director, started at the hospital in 2011, there were 35 dedicated NICU beds. With the expansion, the NICU now has 74 beds with room to add more.

“We have a lot of needs in our community and region for specialized critical care for babies that as a Level IV NICU only we can provide,” said Gaston. “Technological advances and surgical corrections are available now that provide more options to families for positive outcomes for babies. We are thrilled to be able to care for even more babies that need us.”

For the first 19 days of Jadence’s life, Lata and Jeremy were unable to hold their baby as doctors worked to stabilize her and find the best way to administer critical oxygen.

Jadence was diagnosed with a Grade 4 intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), a brain bleed, that was confirmed by ultrasound. Doctors put a device in Jadence’s head to pull fluid off her head every other day and the blood clot dissolved.

She was also diagnosed with a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), a congenital heart defect that is common in extremely premature babies, which doctors are hopeful will close on its own.

Once Jadence is big enough, she will have a shunt put in her head to drain fluid in her brain.

In addition to medical care given to patients, Le Bonheur also provides resources for parents like Lata and Jeremy. They have been able to attend support groups for parents of NICU patients and Lata is part of a meal voucher program for mothers pumping breast milk.

“There are a lot of highs and lows with having a NICU baby,” Lata said. “There is a lot of holding your breath and sometimes when we feel like we are headed in the right direction, something else seems to happen. Everyone at Le Bonheur has been really supportive and has made a stressful situation more bearable.”