On Tuesday, March 22, Volunteer Services at the RVH held an information booth on the Cuddles program in front of the cafeteria. This was to commemorate the program’s 20th anniversary and to inform staff and visitors on the program and its benefits to our tiny patients and their families. We received a very enthusiastic response from staff and many inquiries from people who were interested in volunteering.
This program was created 20 years ago for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) by Nevine Fateen, manager of Volunteers, following a personal experience. Today, trained volunteers come to rock newborn infants; they sing and read to them. “Infants whose parents cannot visit every day benefit most from this program, especially parents from our native community in the North who have to leave children with serious health issues behind to return home,” says Filomena Monteleone, the acting head nurse in the NICU. The program is offered afternoons and evenings seven days a week.
Trained volunteers also care for the siblings of the newborns in a drop-in daycare that is fully equipped to keep a child constructively busy. The drop-in daycare is much appreciated both by staff who encourage family bonding from birth and by parents who can bring their older children for regular visits. Says Ms. Monteleone, “Some parents who do not have childcare support at home could not visit their newborn regularly if not for this service.”
Cuddles has evolved over the years into a unique program for the continuum of care it provides to patients and families. Volunteers not only cuddle infants and care for siblings, they also visit moms in the High Risk Unit. This means, moms can get to know the volunteers before they entrust them with their new baby and other children in the NICU. “Presently, we also serve patients in the Birthing Centre,” explains Irene Vranas, the program coordinator.
“We get many inquiries from other hospitals interested in the uniqueness of the program and its suitability for their patients. We presented at the 24th Gravens Conference on the Physical and Developmental Environment of the High Risk Infant in February 2011. The presentation generated a great deal of interest from the participants, so much so that the department was invited to present again in 2012,” says Nevine Fateen.”