Marian Regional Medical Center’s Smallest Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Baby Turns Five
Brittany, Ellie’s mother, describes her daughter as a true extrovert who simply loves people and talking, more specifically telling jokes. Ellie shares her energetic spirit with those around her where ever she goes. While there have been the expected adjustments with a new sibling in the house, Ellie truly adores her four-month old brother and tells him he is “the cutest baby ever.”
Just a few short months after the opening of the new NICU in 2012, when she was 25 weeks into her pregnancy, Brittany gave birth to Ellie who weighed a mere one pound, 15 ounces. Ellie was so small that she fit in the palm of her mother’s hand. Her fragile life was a day-to-day journey as dedicated staff in Marian’s NICU provided care with the utmost sensitivity and judgment.
As Ellie grows older, her mother reports that she is beginning to understand that her life story unexpectedly started three-and-a-half months sooner than planned. An early picture of Ellie connected to numerous tubes and monitors initially shocked Ellie, but over time, Brittany says her daughter is beginning to realize how hard she fought to stay alive.
Ironically but fortunately, Oliver was born at Marian past his due date with no complications. Throughout this pregnancy, Brittany talked to Oliver to tell him to stay inside, but Ellie would tell her brother to hurry and come out. Once her mother explained why the baby needed to stay inside, Ellie understood and duly amended her advice for Oliver, instructing him to stay inside. It was only at the end of her pregnancy that Brittany reassured Ellie that it was okay for Oliver to come out now.
After spending three months at Marian after Ellie’s vulnerable birth, the Moomey family had bonded with the health care team as they all fought for Ellie’s life. A couple of nurses who cared for Ellie even came to visit the Moomeys after Oliver was born. The Moomeys have attended the NICU reunions at Marian every year and remain grateful for not only the provision of high-quality care but also the lifelong connection they have with Marian. “We had yet another positive experience at Marian with Oliver’s birth and appreciate how caring the nurses and everyone are,” remarks Brittany.
As we celebrate Ellie’s fifth birthday, Marian Regional Medical Center is also celebrating the fifth anniversary of the new hospital opening. When the new facility opened its doors in 2012, the hospital doubled in size and has since increased its capacity to continue providing high-quality, compassionate health care to the community. MRMC celebrated the opening on May 22, 2017 and plans to continue the celebration with ongoing events throughout the year.
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About Marian Regional Medical Center
Marian Regional Medical Center, located in Santa Maria, California, is rated among the top 10% in the nation for cardiac care, and is a designated STEMI Receiving Center (ST Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction) in Santa Barbara County. Santa Barbara County STEMI receiving programs earned the Silver Award from the American Heart Association for excellence in patient care.
Marian has achieved prestigious designation as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission. In addition, Marian has received the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Clinical Excellence Award. The medical center’s cancer program is distinguished as the only comprehensive Community Cancer Center on the Central Coast. The need to meet the demand for quality, technologicallyadvanced care for a growing community led Marian to open its doors to a new state-of-the-art, 191-bed facility in the spring of 2012.
The new facility houses the largest and most comprehensive perinatology/neonatology program on the Central Coast providing the most compassionate, quality care to the littlest of patients. Marian is a Dignity Health member of the Central Coast, which also includes Arroyo Grande Community Hospital in Arroyo Grande, CA and French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, CA, St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, CA and St. John’s Pleasant Valley in Camarillo, CA. Dignity Health of the Central Coast is an integrated network of top quality hospitals, physicians from the most prestigious medical schools, and comprehensive outpatient services including primary care offices, premier ambulatory surgery centers, technologically-advanced laboratories and imaging centers and a full service home health agency; all recognized for quality, safety and service. Each hospital is supported by an active philanthropic Foundation to help meet the growing health care needs of our communities.
Publish date:
Thursday, July 27, 2017