Hospital-to-Home Project Blazes Trails for Premature Babies

​The program that Northwest Center Early Supports for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT) has pioneered in collaboration with the University of Washington Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (UW NICU) is not only making a huge impact on families whose babies are beginning life in the UW NICU; it’s also making one statewide.

Over the past year, the number of babies and families served by the program has tripled, with the program expanded to two more local hospitals. Now Northwest Center’s Early Supports team is helping drive expansion at the state level, working with King County, state and community partners.

The program, one of the first in the state, was launched in 2015 to support families as they transition from the hospital to home—a transition that can seem overwhelming, because the family can no longer rely on 24-hour medical staff support. Our team, in collaboration with community partners, is there as families navigate this emotional, health, and medical journey.
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Families in the program already report feeling more supported and successful, according to research conducted by PhD students at the UW NICU. Giselle, whose son Griffin spent over three months in the UW NICU, puts it this way:
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“When we had our first visit at home from Northwest Center, we finally started to feel like things were going to be okay.”

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