Children’s Mercy Kansas City will transform its main campus with the biggest single capital investment in the hospital system's 129-year history — a $1 billion-plus patient tower on Hospital Hill.

Children's Mercy on Wednesday formally announced an expansion of its flagship Adele Hall Campus with an acute care patient tower fronting Gillham Road.

Early plans call for a new home for the hospital's pediatric and neonatal intensive care units, as well as an expansion of its emergency department to increase patient capacity. The tower is in the early stages of design, the hospital system said.

"The complexity of pediatric care continues to evolve, and we find ourselves at a point of great responsibility with the promises that we've made to the community, when we are the only quaternary pediatric enterprise in about a 200-mile radius," Children's Mercy CEO Dr. Alejandro Quiroga said in an interview. "So capacity, when we are in such a position of responsibility, is a big issue, and when we do analysis, we know that, to be able to have a bed available for everybody, we're going to have to grow the acute care part of our facilities."

Read the full article via The Kansas City Business Journal

PRESS RELEASE: Children’s Mercy Announces New Acute Care Tower at Adele Hall Campus to Meet Urgent Growing Pediatric Needs

This year, two specialties placed among the top 25 nationwide: Nephrology at #14, and Neurology and Neurosurgery at #23. 

Additionally, for the second consecutive year, Children’s Mercy’s Pediatric and Adolescent Behavioral Health was named a top 50 program. (All mental health programs receive equal recognition.)  

The rankings below reflect the expertise, compassion and commitment the teams provide to patients and families every day. 

Children’s Mercy specialties’ rankings: 

• Nephrology (#14)
• Neurology & Neurosurgery (#23)
• Urology (#26)
• Cardiology & Heart Surgery (#30)
• Gastroenterology & GI Surgery (#33)
• Diabetes & Endocrinology (#36)
• Neonatology (#40)
• Pulmonology & Lung Surgery (#46)
• Behavioral Health (Top 50) 

“At Children’s Mercy, excellence isn’t defined just by rankings—every child we care for, every family we support and every breakthrough we achieve reflects the heart of our mission,” said Alejandro Quiroga, MD, MBA, President and CEO of Children’s Mercy. “Being recognized among the top pediatric hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report is an honor, but what matters most is the trust families place in us and the healing we deliver every day. That’s the true measure of our success.” 

U.S News surveyed nearly 150 pediatric centers, gathering clinical and operational data. This data was then combined with results from a reputational survey in which board-certified pediatric specialists were asked where they would send the sickest children in their specialty. 

The full rankings and methodology are available at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals. 

Kansas City-based Children’s Mercy will assume management of Mercy Springfield Communities’ pediatric care after formalizing a partnership announced last year.

John Myers, president of Mercy Springfield Communities, said the pediatric management agreement with Children’s Mercy becomes effective Nov. 1 and covers the health system’s existing pediatric hospital within Mercy Hospital Springfield and its specialty care clinics.

The two organizations are each big players in their own right: Children’s Mercy operates a 367-bed, free-standing children’s hospital in Kansas City and more than a dozen health care facilities in Missouri and Kansas, according to its website. It has over 800 pediatric specialists among its nearly 8,900 employees. Mercy Springfield Communities had 9,217 local employees as of July 2024, according to SBJ’s list of the area’s largest employers, and officials say more than 160 pediatric employees currently work locally for the health system.

A partnership between the two health systems was first announced in March 2024, however this newly signed joint operating agreement provides some of the first details on how the health systems will work together on care.

Myers spoke to Springfield Business Journal along with Amy Fallon, president of regional operations for Children’s Mercy, ahead of an Aug. 14 news conference announcing the signing of the joint operating agreement. 

Read the full article via the Springfield Business Journal

PRESS RELEASE: Mercy and Children's Mercy Announce New Details of Partnership and Expanded Pediatric Care at Today's Community Celebration

As Kansas City gears up for the Divisional Round, an area hospital’s NICU patients celebrated their first Red Friday.

Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City shared photos on Friday, Jan. 17, of patients in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit who dressed to impress in their Red Friday gear.

See the full story via KCTV 5

Children's Mercy Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

For the first time in more than a decade, this year’s rankings included a new specialty – Pediatric and Adolescent Behavioral Health. Children’s Mercy is featured as one of the top 50 programs in the country. All programs receive equal recognition in this inaugural year. This is a testament to all the work being done to address the mental health needs of children and teens in our community.

Six Children’s Mercy specialties rank among the top 25 nationally this year, with the Nephrology team ranking #9. The Neonatology team made a big jump to #11 up from #48 last year, and Cardiology and Heart Surgery jumped from #43 to #26.

Children’s Mercy specialties’ rankings:

·        Nephrology (#9)

·        Neonatology (#11)

·        Urology (#20 tie)

·        Gastroenterology & GI Surgery (#21 tie)

·        Neurology & Neurosurgery (#21)

·        Diabetes & Endocrinology (#23)

·        Cardiology & Heart Surgery (#26)

·        Pulmonology & Lung Surgery (#28)

·        Orthopedics (#35)

·        Cancer (#39)

·        Behavioral Health (Top 50)

“Being among the top pediatric hospitals nationally is worth celebrating,” said Paul Kempinski, MS, FACHE, president and CEO of Children’s Mercy Kansas City. “Children’s Mercy finished first in Missouri and tied for third place in the Midwest region, which includes more than 40 hospitals across 13 states. The rankings are a true testament to our team’s hard work, expertise and dedication to the patients and families we serve.”

In surveying nearly 200 pediatric centers, U.S. News gathered clinical and operation data. This data was then combined with results from a reputational survey in which board-certified pediatric specialists were asked where they would send the sickest children in their specialty.

Those pediatric specialties consist of: behavioral health; cancer; cardiology and heart surgery; diabetes and endocrinology; gastroenterology and GI surgery; neonatology; nephrology; neurology and neurosurgery; orthopedics, pulmonology and lung surgery and urology.   

The full rankings and methodology are available at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals.

A special cup of coffee at The Roasterie will benefit families staying at Children’s Mercy Hospital.

The "Comfort Cup" was created in honor of Nora Jane, who was born at 23 weeks and spent 11 months in the NICU before passing due to an illness.

"Probably the bravest person I’ve ever met," Brian Stockinger, Nora Jane's father, said. "The ability to speak of her and talk about her and share her stories with others is her legacy."

Her parents, Mary Sciortino and Brian Stockinger, say during that difficult year, a cup of coffee at The Roasterie’s Children’s Mercy location was a sense of normalcy they needed.

See the full story via KSHB 41

Support Children's Mercy families

It sounds like a plot straight out of a bad science fiction movie – human babies taken from their mothers' wombs and grown inside fluid-filled pods instead. Yet that is exactly what scientists at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in Pennsylvania in the US propose doing for infants at risk of extreme prematurity.

They are developing what they refer to as an "artificial womb", or extra-uterine environment for newborn development (Extend) to be precise. Extend is not intended to grow a fetus from conception to birth – that would be impossible even if it was desirable. Instead, it is intended to help boost the survival rate of extremely premature infants, who face a plethora of possible health effects throughout their lives.

A typical healthy pregnancy lasts around 40 weeks, with babies considered full term at 37 weeks. However sometimes complications occur in pregnancy that may result in a baby having to be delivered early. 

Luckily, thanks to huge advances in neonatal medicine over the last few decades, most premature infants survive and are discharged with few complications. The most recent data shows that even 30% of 22-week-gestation patients survive if given intensive care. 

"Honestly, 28 weekers and even 27 weekers do overall very well," says Stephanie Kukora, a neonatologist at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.

"It's really the babies born at 22 to 23 weeks that the outcomes are so severe that we are not sure whether the quality of life that they attain is acceptable."

Babies born on the cusp of viability often face severe health challenges. These infants weigh less than 2lb (900g) at birth, and critical organs such as the heart, the lungs, the digestive organs, and the brain are not yet developed enough to keep the baby alive without intensive medical care.

Read the full article via the BBC

Children's Mercy Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

By Ryan Collins

The collaboration effort between Mercy Springfield Communities and Children’s Mercy Kansas City (CMKC) to enhance pediatric care in southwest Missouri is moving at a fast pace, and the Kansas City-based hospital will begin seeing patients in southwest Missouri within the coming months.

“We expect to have patients being seen (in Springfield) this calendar year,” Dr. Rob Steele, executive vice president and chief strategy and innovation officer at CMKC, said in a May 29 interview on Mercy’s Springfield campus. “We’re itchy because we’re still in the midst of recruiting, but you know, optimistically, this is within the next couple months.”

The collaboration between the two hospital systems will not be a joint venture, nor a profit-sharing model, said John Myers, president of Mercy Springfield Communities. Instead, CMKC will pay Mercy to lease space within Mercy’s existing facilities, but CMKC will operate independently and without oversight from Mercy. The physicians and staff of the new Springfield pediatric practice will be exclusively employed by CMKC.

The model the two systems are aiming for is called a “hospital in a hospital,” but that type of operation still has to be approved by regulators, Myers said. The amount of square feet that CMKC will lease and the cost is still being hashed out, but it will be a significant quantity of space.

Read the full article via Springfield Daily Citizen

Children's Mercy Kansas City

About Children's Mercy Kansas City

By Sam Hartle

An increase in the number of families needing a place to day during medical care opened the door for an expanded partnership between Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City and Children’s Mercy Kansas City.

The organizations announced Thursday plans to open a Ronald McDonald House inside of CM’s hospital. The new, expanded space will provide 10 bedrooms and 24/7 access for families with children in the neonatal and cardiac intensive care units.

Read the full story via KSHB 41

Children's Mercy Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Children's Mercy Cardiac Intensive Care Unit

CLABSIs cause significant harm for patients of any age but pose a particular danger to NICU babies. Infections among this vulnerable population impact health outcomes and lengths of stay.

In early 2022, leaders at Children’s Mercy noted an increase in the frequency of CLABSIs in its NICU. Infection rates peaked at 3.88 per 1,000 line days in March.

“Our internal NICU goal is always zero CLABSIs,” says Annie Craig, MSN, RN, RNC-NIC, the hospital’s senior director of neonatal and perinatal services. “When we started to notice these upticks, we decided to address them as an interdisciplinary leadership team.”

Read the full article via the Children's Hospital Association

Children's Mercy Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

The first artificial womb to gestate a human baby is fast approaching reality.

Food and Drug Administration regulators will weigh next week how scientists should conduct the first human tests of bag-like wombs, meant to nurture babies born so premature that modern medicine struggles to keep them healthy. 

The agency plans to meet with outside advisers and discuss behind closed doors what the agency called “confidential commercial information,” citing a federal law that allows nonpublic meetings to discuss trade secrets. The agency hasn’t disclosed which company’s work will be discussed.

Philadelphia-based Vitara Biomedical has said that it is working on an artificial womb and is close to human clinical trials. A company executive said at a biotech symposium last year that the firm is commercializing the research of one of two U.S. groups known to be testing the technology on lambs. The other U.S. group says it is still a few years off from human trials.

Any tests on human babies would need signoff from the FDA, and the agency often meets with outside advisers before high-profile decisions. Tests would require approval from a committee charged with protecting humans in scientific tests, known as an institutional review board. 

Dr. Stephanie Kukora, a neonatologist at Children’s Mercy Kansas City who has written about the ethics of testing artificial wombs, said launching trials will require answering several ethical conundrums, including how best to counsel families about the risks of being among the first to put their babies into artificial wombs.

“It would be a really hard decision. The odds aren’t great with conventional therapy, but we at least sort of know what they are,” Kukora said. “I don’t know what I would do.”

Read the full article via The Wall Street Journal

Children's Mercy Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

U.S. News surveyed nearly 300 pediatric hospitals. Three Children’s Mercy specialties rank among the top 20 nationally this year, with the Nephrology team ranked #10. The Diabetes & Endocrinology team tied for #15, and orthopedics made a big jump from #30 just one year ago to #18. 

 Children’s Mercy specialties’ rankings: 

• Cardiology & Heart Surgery (#43) 
• Diabetes & Endocrinology (#15) 
• Gastroenterology & GI Surgery (#27) 
• Neonatology (#48) 
• Nephrology/Kidney (#10) 
• Neurology & Neurosurgery (#30) 
• Orthopedics (#18) 
• Pulmonology & Lung Surgery (#33) 
• Urology (#26) 

“Being among the top pediatric hospitals nationally is worth celebrating,” said Paul Kempinski, MS, FACHE, president and CEO of Children’s Mercy. “Children’s Mercy finished first in Missouri and tied for seventh place in the Midwest region, which includes more than 40 hospitals across 13 states. The rankings are a true testament to our team’s expertise, high standards and dedication to the patients and families we serve.” 

In surveying the pediatric centers, U.S. News gathered clinical and operation data. This data was then combined with results from a reputational survey in which board-certified pediatric specialists were asked where they would send the sickest children in their specialty. 

Those pediatric specialties consist of: cancer; cardiology and heart surgery; diabetes and endocrinology; gastroenterology and GI surgery; neonatology; nephrology; neurology and neurosurgery; orthopedics; pulmonology and lung surgery and urology.    

The full rankings and methodology are available at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals. 

The Children’s Mercy Research Institute was the perfect setting to celebrate the elevation of this esteemed group of clinicians, researchers and leaders to academic medicine’s highest achievement and the generous donors who made these endowed positions possible.

Philanthropy has powered the hospital, treatment and cures for children for more than 125 years. Thanks to our philanthropic community, Children’s Mercy has more than doubled its total number of endowed chairs - bringing more answers to children and families when they need them most!

“Through extraordinary donor investment, endowed positions provide ongoing financial support to advance excellence in pediatric medicine, research and teaching, while elevating the academic profile of Children’s Mercy and its stature as a national leader,” said Paul Kempinski, Children’s Mercy President and CEO, Alice Berry, DDS, and Katharine Berry, MD, Endowed Chair in Executive Leadership. “The impact: best-in-class experts and care for children and families who call Kansas City and our region home.”

Honorees

Aliessa P. Barnes, MD

The Melva and Randall L. O’Donnell Chair in Pediatric Cardiology

Steven Olsen, MD

Swatek Family Endowed Chair in Neonatology

Jon Wagner, DO

Matson Family Endowed Professorship in Cardiology Research

Norman Y. Otsuka, MD, MSc, FRCSC, FAAP, FACS, FAOA

Dr. Brad and Dawn Olney Chair in Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery

Rangaraj Selvarangan, PhD, BVSc, D(ABMM), FIDSA, F(AAM)

William R. Brown/Missouri Endowed Chair in Medical Genetics and Molecular Medicine

To learn more about the honorees and donors, please visit 2023 Investiture Ceremony (office.com).

Thank you to Dr. Randall and Melva O’Donnell, Ken and Mary Matson, Steve and Kathy Swatek, Dr. Brad and Dawn Olney, and William R. Brown for their visionary leadership and generosity in establishing these vital positions for the continued work of building a world of well-being for all children.

U.S. News surveyed nearly 200 pediatric hospitals. Seven Children’s Mercy specialties rank among the top 25 nationally this year, with the Nephrology team seeing its highest ranking at #4. Nine of our specialties finished higher than one year ago.

Children’s Mercy specialties’ rankings:

·       Nephrology/Kidney (#4)

·       Neonatology/Neonatal Care (#14)

·       Urology (#17)

·       Neurology & Neurosurgery (#18)

·       Cardiology & Heart Surgery (#19)

·       Diabetes & Endocrinology (#22)

·       Pulmonology/Respiratory Disorders (#24)

·       Gastroenterology/Digestive Disorders (#28)

·       Orthopedics (#30)

·       Cancer (#34)

“Being ranked in all 10 specialties is not an easy task, especially when considering the relentless stress that COVID-19 put on our organization last year,” said Paul Kempinski, MS, FACHE, president and CEO of Children’s Mercy. “To be among the top institutions in the nation speaks volumes about our expertise, outcomes and reputation, but also about our resiliency and resolve to provide the highest-quality care to our patients and their families, during even the most tumultuous of times.”

In surveying the pediatric centers, U.S. News gathered clinical and operation data. This data was then combined with results from a reputational survey in which board-certified pediatric specialists were asked where they would send the sickest children in their specialty.

Those pediatric specialties consist of: cancer; cardiology and heart surgery; diabetes and endocrinology; gastroenterology and digestive disorders; neonatology; nephrology; neurology and neurosurgery; orthopedics, pulmonology and respiratory disorders; and urology.   

The full rankings and methodology are available at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals.

Good Morning America checks in on a group of three dozen NICU nurses at Children's Mercy Kansas City who were all pregnant during 2019, before the pandemic started. Now all those newborns are toddlers!

They have their own social media group. The “name that rash” post is pretty popular. 

During a reunion at the hospital this week, the group said they've formed a kind of sisterhood.

And enough time has passed since the 2019 baby boom - that many of the children are, or soon will be, big brothers and sisters.

See the full story via Good Morning America

Learn about the Children's Mercy Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

It was a baby boom to remember.

At one point in 2019, three dozen critical care nurses from Children's Mercy Hospital's NICU were either pregnant or had just given birth to their babies. Their story made international headlines.

Now, nearly two years later, they're all raising toddlers.Stacia Frazier's son, Estes, is now 1 1/2 years old."Despite being in quarantine half of his life, he does have a huge personality,” she said.

The pandemic has affected these nurses and their families in more ways than one.

Work in the neonatal intensive care unit meant more time apart.

"A lot of us were in the same boat as far as not seeing family and friends in this pandemic,” Frazier said.

Still, the group stayed strong and stuck together--offering support for one another at every turn.

See the full story via KMBC 9

Learn more about the Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children's Mercy

Send a virtual Mother's Day card to a mom at Children's Mercy or to one of our caregivers

Most moms don’t expect that when they give birth, their new bundle of joy will be admitted into the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), so having extra support is essential to those who go through this hard time. The NICU can feel like an intimidating place for parents because there’s a lot they need to know about NICUs.

For those who know a mom with a baby in the NICU, it’s important to find ways to support her, whether this is her first child or fourth child.

Having to prepare a meal at the end of the day is the last thing to cross a mom’s mind while she’s in the NICU all day with her little one. She has a million other things going on in her life that need to come first, so preparing a meal for her and her family is a great way to help.

According to Children’s Mercy, make a home-cooked meal for mom and her family so they don’t have to eat hospital food over and over. If cooking isn’t your specialty, provide gift certificates to restaurants near the hospital or get it to-go for them.

It’s not just mom and baby going through the struggles of the NICU. Mom’s partner and the little one’s siblings are also experiencing challenges. Reach out to her partner to let them know you’re thinking about them, mentions Children’s Mercy.

Additionally, if siblings are involved, you can make them a small care package, too, with items like coloring books, markers, and other small, but fun things. After all, it can be hard on parents trying to figure out life with a new baby, and how to give older siblings attention as well.

Read the full list via Babygaga

Learn more about supporting a friend with a baby in the NICU. 

“The Children’s Mercy Division of Neonatology currently provides neonatal care to the preterm and ill newborns at Liberty Hospital, and we look forward to expanding this collaboration with provision of well-baby services,” said Steven Olsen, MD, Children’s Mercy Division Director-Neonatology.

Newborns will receive routine medical care from Children’s Mercy providers, as well as care management to include placement with a primary care provider for post-discharge well-child care.

Read the full story via News-PressNow

Learn more about Neonatology at Children's Mercy

An elevated HbA1c that is still in the prediabetes range was associated with increased risk for neonatal hypoglycemia, particularly among white infants born prematurely, data show.

“Maternal diabetes, including gestational diabetes, typically diagnosed by an oral glucose tolerance test in the second trimester, is a known risk factor for neonatal hypoglycemia and infants born large for gestational age,” Venkatesh Sampath, MD, MRCPCh, professor of pediatrics, neonatologist, medical director of the neonatal diseases research program at Children’s Mercy Kansas City, told Healio.

“Clinicians have suspected that some infants born to mothers without overt diabetes or gestational diabetes may still have an increased risk for hypoglycemia and tend to be larger at birth. However, this has not been systematically evaluated during pregnancy, especially in the context of long-term glucose control in pregnant women. In this study, we wanted to evaluate if long-term maternal glucose homeostasis in the normal range can impact neonatal outcomes such as birth weight and early hypoglycemia. Furthermore, we wanted to investigate whether these relationships are race dependent.”

“We found that maternal HbA1c levels — even within the range often considered acceptable during pregnancy — influenced the incidence of neonatal hypoglycemia and increased birth weight, especially among infants born to white mothers,” Sampath said.

Sampath said the findings, if confirmed in other studies, could suggest tighter glucose regulation during pregnancy is needed.

Read the full story via Healio

Learn More about Research at Children's Mercy

Children’s Mercy specialties’ rankings, with one in the nation’s top 10:

• Nephrology (#10)
• Urology (#21)
• Cardiology & Heart Surgery (#23)
• Neurology & Neurosurgery (#26)
• Orthopedics (#28)
• Cancer (#29)
• Gastroenterology & GI Surgery (#31)
• Pulmonology (#35)
• Diabetes & Endocrine Disorders (#43)
• Neonatal Care (#46)

“Having all 10 specialties ranked for the sixth year is a remarkable achievement when considering only about two dozen children’s hospitals rank in all 10 specialties each year,” said Paul Kempinski, MS, FACHE, president and CEO of Children’s Mercy. “The excellent care given by our entire team is keeping families closer to the communities in which they live and providing a sense of comfort and familiarity, and I think that contributes to the treatment and healing process."

This year, U.S. News surveyed nearly 200 pediatric centers to gather clinical and operational data. This data was then combined with results from a reputational survey in which board-certified pediatric specialists representing the 10 areas were asked where they would send the sickest children in their specialty.

Those pediatric specialties consist of: cancer; cardiology and heart surgery; diabetes and endocrinology; gastroenterology and GI surgery; neonatology; nephrology; neurology and neurosurgery; orthopedics, pulmonology; and urology.

The full rankings and methodology are available at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals.

About Children’s Mercy Kansas City

Founded in 1897, Children’s Mercy is one of the nation’s top pediatric medical centers. With not-for-profit hospitals in Missouri and Kansas, and numerous specialty clinics in both states, Children’s Mercy provides the highest level of care for children from birth through the age of 21. U.S. News & World Report has repeatedly ranked Children’s Mercy as one of “America's Best Children's Hospitals.” For the fourth time in a row, Children’s Mercy has achieved Magnet nursing designation, awarded to only about 8 percent of all hospitals nationally, for excellence in quality care. Its faculty of more than 800 pediatric subspecialists and researchers across more than 40 subspecialties are actively involved in clinical care, pediatric research, and educating the next generation of pediatric subspecialists. Thanks to generous philanthropic and volunteer support, Children’s Mercy provides medical care to every child who passes through its doors, regardless of a family’s ability to pay. For more information about Children’s Mercy and its research, visit childrensmercy.org. For breaking news and videos, follow us on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

In late October of 2017, in the middle of her 21st week and just over halfway through her pregnancy, Sarah Kil started bleeding. She recognized the symptoms of preterm labor because, just a few years earlier, she had given birth to a son at 24 weeks. He died of an infection 10 days later. Kil, 34, of McKinney, Texas, knew that one preterm birth meant she was at increased risk for another. And sure enough, this pregnancy seemed to be ending even earlier than the previous one.

Kil and her husband Hyung drove straight to Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in nearby Frisco. There, doctors confirmed that Kil’s cervix was dilating—opening too soon—and delaying birth for a few days or a week was all they could hope for. They didn’t know then that the hospital they chose could actually determine the fate of their unborn baby.

Of the 3.8 million babies born in the U.S. each year, just over 10 percent are born prematurely, defined as coming earlier than 37 weeks’ gestation. The chance of a baby surviving birth at 24 weeks or later is usually high enough that doctors will attempt life-saving treatment, which involves resuscitation in the delivery room followed by care in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Babies born earlier than the first day of the 22nd week are generally too immature to be successfully treated with intensive care and have almost no chance of survival. In such cases, clinicians will simply let the parents hold the baby immediately after birth until he or she dies, which often happens within minutes. This is called comfort or palliative care, akin to a very short hospice.

But each year in the U.S. about 5,000 babies are born in the uncertain window between 22 and 23 weeks, in which their chances of survival are generally low but not zero. This is because the treatment of premature babies has undergone a slow revolution within the past 60 years, successfully treating ever younger babies.

The outlook for babies born at 22 and 23 weeks is not sunny, but it is improving. In two multicenter studies published in 2015 and 2018, 23 and 38 percent of babies born at 22 weeks and given intensive care survived to hospital discharge. For 23-week babies, the survival rate was as high as 55 percent. Last year, the University of Iowa reported that, among 20 babies who were born at their children’s hospital at 22 weeks between 2006 and 2015, 70 percent survived, which is the highest survival rate at that gestation ever reported in the United States.

Some of that change in survival has to do with improvements in the intensive care. But some of it has to do with giving them intensive care at all: Ten years ago, it was rare for a 22-week baby to get NICU care, which led to survival rates close to zero. As more babies are actively treated, more survive.

Read the full story via The New York Times

Learn more about Bioethics at Children's Mercy 

Olathe Health has teamed up with Children's Mercy to expand its services in the neonatal intensive care unit at Olathe Medical Center.

Beginning May 1, neonatal nurse practitioners with Children's Mercy will provide 24/7, on-site support at Olathe's flagship hospital, which is located at 20333 W. 151st St. near Interstate 35.

Olathe Health CEO Stan Holm said it's a collaboration that has been in the works since he and Children's Mercy CEO Paul Kempinski stepped into their respective roles, which happened to be on the same day — Nov. 1, 2018.

"Being married to a pediatric nurse, I've always had a deep appreciation for the importance of mother-baby care," Kempinski said. "Keeping families in the communities in which they live provides a sense of comfort and familiarity, and I think that contributes to the treatment and healing process."

Read the full story via Kansas City Business Journal

Learn more about Neonatology at Children's Mercy

OLATHE, KAN. (Jan. 28, 2020) – Olathe Health is collaborating with Children’s Mercy Kansas City to provide the highest level of neonatal services for newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit at Olathe Medical Center (OMC). Under the new agreement, beginning May 1, Children’s Mercy Neonatal Nurse Practitioners (NNPs) will provide on-site support 24 hours a day, seven days a week at OMC. A Children’s Mercy neonatologist will make daily rounds and be on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With Children’s Mercy neonatology experts coming to OMC to provide care, it means more moms and babies can stay together in their community.

It’s a collaboration that has been in the works since the new CEOs for each health system started, which happened to be on the same day. Stan Holm, CHFP, FACHE, Olathe Health President/CEO and Paul Kempinski, MS, FACHE, President and CEO of Children’s Mercy, both stepped into their roles on Nov. 1, 2018. They recognized this collaboration between Olathe Health and Children’s Mercy would benefit young families in the area by advancing strategies that allow moms and babies to stay together close to home.

“In 2017, Olathe Medical Center raised its level of care for moms and babies with the addition of a Level II NICU led by highly-skilled and experienced neonatologists, nurse practitioners and nursing staff,” Holm said. “We are proud that our commitment to caring for new families has earned us the honor of being chosen by moms as a Favorite Place to Have a Baby in the Kansas City region for three years in a row. Now, we are taking that level of care one step further by teaming up with the only organization with a Level IV NICU in the region.”

“We are excited and proud to work with Olathe Health,” Kempinksi said. “Through this arrangement, more babies at Olathe Medical Center will have immediate access to the expertise of our nationally recognized neonatologists without having to leave Olathe. Keeping families together and close to home can help speed babies’ recovery, while reducing stress on families.”

Jessica Brunkhorst, MD, will serve as the medical director for Olathe Medical Center’s NICU. Dr. Brunkhorst, an Olathe resident, is a Children’s Mercy neonatologist and assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, School of Medicine.

Learn more about Neonatology at Children's Mercy, including the region's only top-level Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

As part of METRO, Children’s Mercy neonatologists and neonatal advanced practice registered nurses provide on-site support and pediatric expertise in NICUs at six area hospitals.

“Every NICU has a medical director that is a Children’s Mercy neonatologist,” said Steven L. Olsen, MD, FAAP, Division Director, Neonatology, Children’s Mercy. “We also have a core group of neonatologists that cover that area and each hospital has a core group of nurse practitioners.”

While 10% of all newborns need specialized care after birth, such IV fluids, antibiotics or help breathing with a ventilator, only 1% are critically ill and need to be transferred to Children’s Mercy. The program is designed to take care of babies in the exact place they need to be taken care of.

“Not all newborns that require a higher level of neonatal care need a Level IV NICU. Our goal is to identify babies who can stay at community hospitals and provide a higher level of service there,” said Dr. Olsen.

Last year, 43 infants born at Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph received critical care transport to Children’s Mercy in Kansas City. Mosaic is the newest member of the METRO program and now more babies will have access to support without leaving the hospital.

“This partnership means our families that require NICU services will have the immediate access to the expertise of neonatal nurse practitioners from Children’s Mercy, working alongside our highly trained staff,” said Adriana Nabors, RN, BSN, MSN, FNP-C, CENP, Vice President, Mosaic Life Care. “It allows families to stay together if the baby doesn’t have to be transferred, which reduces stress and is cost effective for families, too.”

North Kansas City Hospital has been a long-time METRO partner and Catherine Bonderer, BSN, RNC-OB, NE-BC, senior director of North Kansas City Hospital’s Maternal Child department, said knowing neonatal advanced practice registered nurses are available 24/7 also gives delivering moms peace-of-mind for when things don’t go as planned, “Moms and babies benefit from Children’s Mercy’s expertise during those ‘just in case’ moments, when newborns may require specialized care or varying degrees of resuscitation.”

Dr. Olsen added that he’s the doctor no parent wants to see, but parents are glad to see him when needed, “Everyone assumes their baby is going to be fine, but when something isn’t quite right panic can set in for these families and although they hate the situation, they’re relieved to know our team is there to provide specialized care for their child.”

In addition to improving outcomes, the METRO program also provides ongoing education and training for staff, and access to a collaborative network of other Children’s Mercy partner NICUs for shared learning opportunities.

“The Children’s Mercy partnership with AdventHealth Shawnee Mission dates back to 2003 and during that time we have grown from a 12-bed NICU to a 32-bed NICU, taking babies as early as 27 weeks gestation,” said Ellen Acinger, BSN, RNC-NIC, clinical nurse manager, AdventHealth Shawnee Mission. “The education and mentorship we have received from the Children’s Mercy Neonatology team over the years has been key to our growth and success.”

Community hospitals also benefit from the high academic level of neonatal care, “Everything Children’s Mercy does as far as evidence-based medicine and protocols gets pushed to the community hospitals,” said Dr. Olsen.

The METRO program is collaborative effort and a shared commitment to improve care.

“This long-standing relationship reflects our commitment to improving national neonatal outcomes,” said Catherine. “Our nurses have trusted advisors at their fingertips, allowing us to streamline quality patient care.”

Ellen added, “Our long-standing relationship has made the Children’s Mercy neonatologist and neonatal nurse practitioners an integral part of our team. They have mentored us through many changes over the years, resulting in better outcomes for our patients and families.”

Dr. Olsen couldn’t agree more, “we will always do what is best for the baby, because in the end the most important thing is the outcome.”

Learn more about Children's Mercy Level IV NICU.

by Daniel Cobb

Mosaic Life Care has partnered with Children’s Mercy Kansas City to provide better care and support to newborns in St. Joseph.

Neonatal advanced practice nurses from Children’s Mercy will be onsite in St. Joseph to provide 24/7 care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, as well as through telemedicine with various neonatologists.

“It’s a unique program, that we’re able to have both the onsite presence of really skilled practitioners who can help a lot with the babies and us (neonatologists) remoting in ... to help take care of them,” Steven Olsen, interim division director of neonatology at Children’s Mercy said.

Olsen will serve the NICU at Mosaic Life Care as its medical director.

Children’s Mercy is the region’s only Level IV NICU, and provides care for complex births and critically ill newborns. Last year, 42 infants were transported from Mosaic Life Care to Children’s Mercy in Kansas City due to their need for critical care.

Read the full article via News-PressNow.com

Learn more about the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children's Mercy

"You want to do everything that you can as a mom, but you can't because it's not good for them."

The last year has been a heartbreaking one for 33 year-old Ashley Trotter and her family. After learning she was pregnant with twin girls in August 2018, medical complications during the pregnancy caused doctors to make the decision to deliver her girls, Rylynn and Roselynn, by emergency C-section at 26 weeks on January 11, 2019.

Weighing in at only 1.4 lbs and 1.8 lbs. Rylynn and Roselynn's lungs were severely under developed due to being so premature. This required lots of oxygen support and treatment in the NICU. Since their journey began, the girls were at St. Luke's then transferred to Children's Mercy Kansas City in April.

But through all the sadness and the hard times, Trotter has been able to find love and support through the hard workings NICU nurses and doctors.

"They become family. We have our primary nurses. If it wasn't for them, I probably would have lost my mind by now," Trotter said. "They are not just in there taking care of them like another patient. They're personal. They do care about my girls. If my daughter is crying and I'm holding one of them, they pick her up and they love on them. You create this bond with these people who save your baby's life everyday."

For that Trotter said she's forever grateful and thankful for them.

Read the full story via KQ2

Learn more about the Level IV NICU at Children's Mercy

It wasn’t that Felix would miss the value of breast milk: Lindsey could use the supplies in the NICU lactation room to pump milk for her newborn. It was the complexity of pumping itself, precluding the bonding experience she had so eagerly anticipated.

But a couple of weeks into Felix’s month-long NICU stay, she discovered instructions posted in the NICU Lactation Room for ways to modify a sports bra to free her hands while she pumped. She gave it a try with an old sports bra her mother brought her from home.

“It was comfortable, didn’t negatively affect my supply, and allowed me to pump hands-free,” Lindsey said. “It literally changed my life.”

From that experience, Support a Sister, an initiative to help to other moms in similar situations, was born.

Helping hands, encouraging words

The logistics of pumping are complicated and frustrating. Or, as Lindsey puts it, “It’s nuts. You need four hands to do it.”

But a sports bra, with strategically placed cuts customized to each individual, can hold pumping equipment up to the breast in the correct location, freeing Mom’s hands, reducing spill – and more.

“There is so much bonding that is lost when you are not able to hold your child to feed them. It was a loss I deeply felt,” she said. “But being able to pump hands-free, I was able to use a tissue to wipe away my tears, fold my hands to pray or even just respond to messages from family and friends on my phone.”

While commercial hands-free pumping bras are available in stores, they are expensive, and the right fit can be difficult to find. So determined to help others going through similar circumstances with a less costly, customizable solution, “I came up with this idea to donate a free sports bra to other moms going through the same experience, and held on tight to it,” she said.

Support a Sister now provides a sports bra with an attached card sharing step-by-step directions along with scissors and other supplies to make the necessary modifications for a customized fit. After receiving initial financial support from a crowd-funding campaign, Lindsey and her husband now fund the project, supplying sports bras of varying sizes to the NICU Lactation Team and restocking as needed.

Just as important to Lindsey as the bra itself is the hand-written note of encouragement each card carries.

“It is really important to me to leave an encouraging word on each card for the mom who receives a bra from Support a Sister,” she said. “When you are basically living in the hospital, you start to feel so isolated. It’s an amazing feeling to know that someone is out there cheering you on beyond the hospital walls.”

She enlists family and friends to assist with note-writing, and has found many helping hands for the project, as well as space to do the work, at the Jewish Community Center’s Meshugge Crossfit.

“The women I work out with are my most reliable volunteers to help package the bras to get them ready for the moms at Children’s Mercy. The managers of the gym area always willing to let us use their space in the gym to get the job done,” she said.

Going forward

So far, Support a Sister has provided sports bras, and the words of hope that go with them, to more than 1,000 NICU moms. And that’s just the beginning.

The positive feedback she receives from the Lactation team and comments from mothers they send her way continues to inspire her.

“I’ll keep donating them until someone asks me to stop!” she said. “It has been so therapeutic to know I am helping out another mom.”

Learn more about the NICU at Children's Mercy.

Learn more about NICU Family Resources at Children's Mercy.

Bringing home a baby from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for the first time can be overwhelming. Most parents experience a range of emotions – excited to be leaving the hospital, while worried of taking care of their little one after having around-the-clock care in the NICU.

While feeling stressed is normal, it’s important to know that a child is only discharged from the NICU when that child is healthy enough to go home. Our job as home care coordinators and clinicians is to provide that extra support to families as they settle in at home and get comfortable with their new normal.

Support for Common to Complex Conditions

Home care is a valuable service, which is sometimes underutilized. Many people think home care is only for medically complex kids, but that’s not the case. Not all children that go home from the NICU need clinical respiratory services, feeding tubes or long-term care for multi-congenital abnormalities. Some newborns simply need extra support for a short time – that can be teaching parents or caregivers how to use an apnea monitor or a nebulizer, providing feeding education (how to measure and correctly mix formula, breastfeeding tips, recommended feeding positions, nutritional needs and growth assessment), giving head-to-toe child evaluations, and providing home environment and safety assessments.

Benefits of Home Care

• Eases Anxiety

Educating parents on how to provide the proper care to their child at home can help ease any anxiety they may have leaving the NICU. Parents feel reassured knowing that a pediatric trained clinical home care nurse is going to make a visit or is just a phone call away.

• Children Thrive at Home

Kids in general thrive better at home where they're comfortable and surrounded by a familiar environment instead of a clinical setting. Home care visits also make it easier on parents, so they’re not driving back-and-forth to the doctor. This is especially convenient for families that live in rural communities and have a longer commute. (Home Care services are available for patients that reside within a 55-mile service area.)

• Prevents Hospital Readmission

Staying at home prevents newborns from being exposed to germs in the hospital and clinic, especially during the cold and flu season. (This is especially important for high-risk patients.)

When families have extra support at home, they’re also less likely to make unnecessary emergency room visits for minor concerns that arise. Instead, parents can call their home care nurse or wait to see if it’s something the nurse can help with at home.

• Continuity of Care

When people are stressed or overwhelmed it’s easy to miss appointments. Home care is the connection between families and the primary care physician. The clinicians help make sure parents are taking kiddos to follow-up appointments and following the doctor’s recommendation for care.

• Around-the-Clock Support

Home Care has staff on-call 24-7, so when parents have a question or concern at any hour in the day, the team can triage the situation over the phone and make an appropriate recommendation.

• Full-Service Care

We’re the only full-service pediatric home health agency in the region, so everything parents need is in one place once they leave the NICU. In addition to nursing care, families can also order supplies and infusion medications through Home Care.

• Builds Strong Relationships

Home care nurses, therapists and other team members become part of the family when they make regular visits for a long period of time. They get to know schedules, likes and dislikes of the patient and caregivers and what kind of other support the family is receiving.

One of the most important things we do is offer support and encouragement to families during each visit, because we want parents to be successful in caring for their child independently.

In addition to home nursing visits, other Home Care services include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, clinical respiratory services, durable medical equipment, and pharmacy.

Read more and watch our video to learn more about Home Care at Children's Mercy.

Meet Lucas: learn how home care has helped Lucas thrive.

In a post to the hospital’s Facebook page, officials said 36 babies are expected this year to nurses in the Children’s Mercy Intensive Care Nursery.

“Our Intensive Care Nursery nurses spend their days and nights with little ones from across the Midwest who need the most advanced care,” the post said. “They've also had a baby boom of their own!”

See the full story via KMBC 9

Learn more about the Intensive Care Nursery or NICU at Chldren's Mercy

KANSAS CITY, Mo., June 18, 2019 – Children’s Mercy Kansas City is once again recognized as one of the nation’s top pediatric hospitals, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2019-2020 “Best Children’s Hospitals” report. For the fifth year in a row, Children’s Mercy is listed with the best in the country in 10 out of 10 pediatric specialties included in the survey. Children’s Mercy is among an elite handful of pediatric hospitals which consistently rank in all 10 specialties.

Children’s Mercy specialties in the top 30 rankings, with three in the top 15:

• Nephrology/Kidney (#7)
• Neonatology/Neonatal Care (#13)
• Orthopedics (#13)
• Urology (#17)
• Cardiology and Heart Surgery (#20)
• Gastroenterology/Digestive Disorders (#22)
• Neurology/Neurosurgery (#23)
• Pulmonology (#27)
• Endocrinology (#29)
• Cancer (#30)

“Five of our specialties made gains this year, including our Neonatology team which rose nearly 30 spots,” said Paul Kempinski, MS, FACHE, president and CEO of Children’s Mercy. “Having all 10 specialties ranked for the fifth year is testament not just to our team’s expertise, but equally important, it speaks to our partnership with our patient families and our community providers. It takes us all working together to ensure the best outcome for every child.”

This year, U.S. News surveyed more than 180 pediatric centers to gather clinical and operational data. This data was then combined with results from a reputational survey in which board-certified pediatric specialists representing the 10 areas were asked where they would send the sickest children in their specialty.

Those pediatric specialties include: cancer, cardiology, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology, neonatology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology and urology.

The full rankings and methodology are available at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals.

About Children’s Mercy Kansas City

Founded in 1897, Children’s Mercy is one of the nation’s top pediatric medical centers. With not-for-profit hospitals in Missouri and Kansas, and numerous specialty clinics in both states, Children’s Mercy provides the highest level of care for children from birth through the age of 21. U.S. News & World Report has repeatedly ranked Children’s Mercy as one of “America's Best Children's Hospitals.” For the fourth time in a row, Children’s Mercy has achieved Magnet nursing designation, awarded to only about 8 percent of all hospitals nationally, for excellence in quality care. Its faculty of more than 700 pediatric subspecialists and researchers across more than 40 subspecialties are actively involved in clinical care, pediatric research, and educating the next generation of pediatric subspecialists. Thanks to generous philanthropic and volunteer support, Children’s Mercy provides medical care to every child who passes through its doors, regardless of a family’s ability to pay. For more information about Children’s Mercy and its research, visit childrensmercy.org. For breaking news and videos, follow us on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

We spoke with Dr. Emanuel (Mike) Vlastos (pictured left), Medical Director of Fetal Therapy, and Dr. Paul Grabb (pictured right), Section Chief and Neurosurgeon, about the advancements in fetal surgery that make it possible to perform surgery in the womb before the baby is even born.

Dr. Vlastos has performed hundreds of fetal procedures and is internationally known for his expertise in fetal medicine, particularly prenatal treatment for spina bifida. Dr. Grabb is board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and the American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery, and operated on neonates and children with spina bifida for over twenty years.

How is spina bifida treated in the womb?

Dr. Vlastos: We're very fortunate to live in the 21st century and offer cutting-edge options to our patients. Until early 1997, the only option was for a mother to give birth to her child and then have the spina bifida repaired at that time. Today, we can do that repair in utero.

Provided both mom and baby are candidates, we offer repair between 24-26 weeks of pregnancy where we open up the mother’s abdomen, open the uterus like a C-section and expose the baby's back so Dr. Grabb can close the spine.

Dr. Grabb: After the woman’s uterus is open and the fetus floats to the top of the uterus, Dr. Vlastos maneuvers the baby so the back is exposed to the neurosurgeon. Dr. Vlastos holds the baby as still as possible while the neurosurgeon make the repair.

The neurosurgical part of it is very brief. The vast majority of the procedure is spent carefully opening and closing the uterus, so that mom and baby stay safe.

From a technical standpoint, the neurosurgical part is very straightforward and the closure procedure is actually easier to perform in the womb than after the baby is born because the baby is closed up and put back in the uterus, and hence, underwater, I don’t have to worry as much about spinal fluid leakage, keeping a sterile bandage on the incision or infection. I think that’s why these incisions heal so beautifully, because they’re going back to a sterile underwater environment.

Dr. Vlastos: After surgery, the mother needs to stay in the hospital for 4-5 days, so we can monitor her for preterm labor. After being discharged from the hospital, she can return home (if she lives within a 50 mile radius) and finish her recovery for another two weeks. The mother will need to stay in the Kansas City area if she lives more than 50 miles away. It is imperative another adult is with her during this time because if a complication were to occur someone has to help get that mom to the center to be evaluated. After that two week period, the mother will visit her OB every week for an ultrasound to make sure there are no signs of preterm labor. Most moms will give birth between 33-34 weeks, but the goal is for the pregnancy to be promoted until 37 weeks and deliver the baby via C-section.

Not everyone is a candidate for prenatal repair. How does a mom and her baby qualify?

Dr. Vlastos: First, we need know the genetic structure of the baby before we can even consider performing the prenatal repair. An amino synthesis will determine if the baby in the womb has normal genes. If the baby has no other issues outside of spina bifida than the child would be considered for surgery before birth.

However, the mother also has to be a healthy person. To be a candidate for surgery, mom can’t have insulin dependent diabetes, have chronic hypertension, she can't have the AIDS virus or hepatitis viruses. She also can’t have had a pre-term birth in the past, because undergoing surgery puts her at pre-term risk. If she’s already had one baby early, she’s more than likely to have this baby early too.

What are the risks of prenatal repair?

Dr. Vlastos: Even though prenatal repair has been around for two decades, it didn’t start gaining national attention until 2011 when The New England Medical Journal posted about the Management of Myelomeningocele Study or MOMS trial, which compared prenatal and postnatal repair. The study concluded that prenatal surgery had long-term benefits, although the surgery did come with risks.

First, there is risk to the mother. Prior to considering this procedure, we stress to the mom that we’re changing her body forever and how she’s going to have children in the future. Women who've undergone prenatal repair must deliver her child and any future children via C-section, because the scar created on the uterus has the potential to open up if she should labor.

For the baby, the risk is prematurity or even death. In comparison, kids that undergo postnatal repair are usually born around 38 weeks. They’re near term and come out sucking, swallowing and breathing on their own. Babies that undergo prenatal repair are usually delivered at 33-34 weeks. So you’re trading some prematurity to have a prenatal repair.

What are the benefits of prenatal repair?

Dr. Vlastos: The MOMS Trial helped answer that question as well. While there is no cure for spina bifida, repairing the spine in the womb can minimize the spinal defect.

Prenatal surgery also lowers the risk for a shunt. For babies that have surgery after birth, 82 percent will require a shunt to be placed in the brain. This is due to the formation of water on the brain or hydrocephalus. The shunt drains the fluid from the baby’s brain to the peritoneal cavity in the abdomen.

Because a shunt is a piece of hardware it can clog, get infected or break with a national 40 percent rate of some complication in the first year of life.

For babies that undergo prenatal repair, only 40 percent would need a shunt placement in their first year of life. Now that’s not zero percent, but the risk of needing a shunt is cut in half.

Dr. Grabb: Having hydrocephalus and a shunt is a tremendous burden on the kids, the family and the health care system just on the cost of putting them in, maintaining them and taking care of the problems that almost inevitably develop. The MOMS Trial showed babies that underwent prenatal repair had more mobility, more movement in the legs and better neurologic outcomes.

Another benefit about closing the spina bifida prenatally is the child is healed and sealed at birth. The mother can bond, hold and nurse her child without worrying about a fresh incision or spinal defect she can’t put pressure on. Also, there is no fresh incision that could get infected.

Did you ever think you would perform surgery in the womb?

Dr. Vlastos: No, not at all. I was a family doctor in the middle of Wyoming. I had heard and read about it, but I never thought I'd be a part of it. It's been a life-changer for me and hopefully I can continue to spread the word and push the science.

Dr. Grabb: I was an extreme skeptic when it first came out. But the more I saw these kids and talked to the people doing it and now having done it and seen these babies, it's an option that should be seriously considered. It’s also important to note that I couldn’t perform this surgery without the entire team.

Dr. Vlastos: Truly the heart and soul of the Fetal Health Center happens to be the nurse coordinators and the sonographers. That's a fact.

With respect to fetal interventions, you have four different services coming together to help one woman and one baby. First, you need a neurosurgeon to fix the spine. Second, and just as important, you need an anesthesiologist to make sure mom is stable through surgery. Third, is the nursing staff who help with the surgery, who take care of patients before surgery, take care of patients postpartum and take care of the babies. Lastly, you have obstetrical services, which is my role. I help coordinate the care during the surgery, keep an eye on the baby, assist the neurosurgeon, and communicate with anesthesia and nursing care. It truly is a team effort at its best with respect to surgical intervention.

What makes the Elizabeth J. Ferrell Fetal Health Center at Children’s Mercy unique?

Dr. Vlastos: Our Fetal Health Center is reflective of other centers around the U.S., but what makes us unique is that we’re one of the first to have a fetal center located inside a children's hospital. That means mom can give birth right here in the hospital, so baby is always close by.

Sometimes there are maternal reasons why mom can’t deliver here at Children’s Mercy and she needs expertise in an adult hospital. When that happens she can give birth at Truman Medical Center across the street, which is connected to the Fetal Health Center by the Gary Dickinson Bridge of Hope walkway bridge. This allows both families and staff to walk back-and-forth keeping everyone close.

We couldn’t do any of this without the community who have supported this program and a staff of great people. It really is homegrown.

How does a mother decide if prenatal surgery is right for her and her baby?

Dr. Vlastos: Just because mom and baby are a candidate it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. It’s not an obligation to have the surgery before birth, it’s an option and a choice.

Dr. Grabb: There's not a right or wrong answer. We're not here to convince anybody of having the surgery, we're here to provide the information about the risks and the benefits, answer any questions and let the families make the decision that’s best for them.

Dr. Vlastos has been part of more than 85 prenatal repairs, 15 of which were performed at Children’s Mercy from November 2017- April 2019. Of the 15 surgeries, one child is still in gestation while the other 14 babies are healthy and growing. Only one baby has required a shunt and two have undergone endoscopic third ventriculostomy.

Learn more about Spina Bifida and the Fetal Health Center at Children’s Mercy.

Read Mary Kate's story: Fetal Surgery Gives Babies a New Start After Spina Bifida.

Children’s Mercy Hospital is taking strides to care for the smallest premature babies.

They have added a new unit specially designed for the most vulnerable preemies who require the most critical care to not only to survive, but ensure their quality of life into adolescence and adulthood.

It’s called the "Small Baby Unit” and it’s equipped with a specialized team trained to handle the issues such babies face.

Born at just over 24 weeks, twins Arlo and Ackley Parker came into this world each weighing barely over a pound.

Dr. Adebayo Oshodi works in The Small Baby Unit at Children’s Mercy. The Parkers credit the new unit as the reason their once very vulnerable babies are now doing well.

“Now, it’s been several weeks since their birth and they have peeled away little by little of all of the support that they’ve needed,” Oshodi said. “It’s been a great thing just watching them grow.”

“The group of people that make up the team in The Small Baby Unit are a more multidisciplinary group,” Oshodi said.

Today, the Parker twins have graduated out of The Small Baby Unit and are in the regular NICU.

Though they are still several months from being able to go home for the first time, their parents said they are confident the twins are getting what they need to be healthy.

Over the last five years, Children’s Mercy has admitted an average of about two of these preemies a month. While that’s a small percentage of NICU patients, they stay hospitalized the longest and require the most intense care.

See the full story via KCTV 5

Learn more about the NICU at Children's Mercy

You might have heard about Emanuel (Mike) Vlastos, M.D., associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the UMKC School of Medicine, because he’s made news for performing life-changing surgeries — in the womb. For example, he has been able to lessen the defects of babies who have spina bifida (when the spinal cord isn’t covered with skin and bone) before they are born. When he came to Kansas City from St. Louis in 2017, he brought open-fetal surgery to Children’s Mercy, where he is director of fetal therapy. Akash Jani, a Chicago native who is a six-year-medical student expecting to graduate in 2020, sought out Vlastos for a rotation in fetal medicine and surgery.

How did this mentorship come to be? Some people go their whole lives without having a mentor.

Mike Vlastos: It was Akash’s impetus and push, which brought this to fruition. He has broken trails for the next student to tread. It has been a pleasure and a challenge. Let this continue!Akash Jani: I sent him an e-mail after hearing about the work that he was doing with fetal surgery and it all snowballed from there. All you have to do is find a faculty member or staff person who’s inspiring to you, does cool work, or is respected in their field, and just introduce yourself. My experiences have led me to apply to obstetrics and gynecology for my residency after I complete my M.D. I have never felt a more rewarding feeling than when the OB/GYN team hands a mom her newborn baby.

Read the full story via UMKC Today

Learn more about the Fetal Health Center at Children's Mercy

Ansley Ross has no memory of her seven weeks at Children’s Mercy. This is because she was a newborn brought to Children’s Mercy in an ambulance soon after her birth at Overland Park Regional Medical Center. But Ansley’s parents, Stan and Merett, remember it all too vividly.

Ansley was diagnosed with Gastroschisis during an ultrasound while still in utero. Following the diagnosis, Stan and Merett met with a team to coordinate Ansley’s delivery and immediate transfer to Children’s Mercy for the mandatory surgery needed within six hours of her birth.

Twelve years later, Ansley thinks frequently about the stories she’s heard about how she came into the world and her seven weeks in the NICU. She uses what she knows to bring awareness and support to the NICU that helped her overcome her own health challenges and grow into the confident pre-teen she is today.

“Ansley began asking more questions about age five when she did not like her belly button which is larger and different from ours. We always told her it was very special because the surgeons made it especially for her! Thus began her increased curiosity, interest and frequent comments about wanting to help other kids at Children's Mercy,” Merett says.

Ansley and her dad, Stan, at the Digital Ally Open golf tournament (left) and presenting the $30,000 check to Children's Mercy (right).

During the summer of 2017, Ansley single-handedly raised $30,000 at the Digital Ally Open, a web.com and PGA-sanctioned golf tournament held annually at Lionsgate. Ansley sold hats signed by local celebrities to tournament attendees.The money Ansley raised was donated to the NICU at Children’s Mercy.

Recently, Ansley and her mother returned to Children’s Mercy to take a special tour of the NICU where they were unexpectedly reunited with Sarah English, a nurse who was a vital part of Ansley’s care twelve years prior. (pictured right.)

“We had wonderful nurses and developed a special bond/friendship with Sarah in the seven weeks Ansley was in the NICU,” Merett says. The Rosses attended Sarah’s wedding, but eventually lost touch with her. They thought of her frequently through the years, but didn’t know how to find her. Meeting her again was a surprise and pleasure.

Sarah English has been a nurse at Children’s Mercy for 15 years. Sarah says she always knew that she wanted to be a NICU nurse, but that she had no idea about how rewarding and fulfilling the job would actually be.

“One of the rewards of taking care of critically ill newborns is when you are given the opportunity to see how they are doing years down the road. I cared for Ansley Ross and was her primary nurse in ICN for several weeks. She recently visited the ICN and had raised money to donate to the hospital. I was thrilled to see the beautiful, intelligent and giving person she has become,” Sarah says.

In honor of Ansley’s support of Children’s Mercy, a room in the NICU has been named ‘The Ansley Ross Room in Celebration of Little Bits of Good’. According to Ansley, Little Bits of Good means “you don’t have to do a big thing to make a difference. Even if I didn’t get to do something that big, I can do lots of little things to add up and help others.”

Children’s Mercy is the only top-level (Level IV) NICU in the region. Learn more about the neonatology program and the resources available.

Many of the families expressed their appreciation at the event and commented on how meaningful it is to be able to see the Children's Mercy team again. “It was so much fun,” said Abbie Richardson, former NICU mom. “Since we were in the NICU for so long it was so nice to see everyone and that everyone remembered the kids. It’s great to see everyone when life isn’t as stressful as it was when we all first met.”

Having the opportunity to reconnect with patients and families is also very important to the Children's Mercy team that is why they host this event to bring families and staff together.

“It was wonderful to see our former patients, dressed in costumes, growing and thriving,” said Steven Olsen, MD, Associate Division Director, Neonatology. “It was also touching to see our ICN nurses and ancillary support providers, who work so closely with the families, tear up when they met former patients. Some former NICU patients were running around and others continued to need medical support, but all showed the resilience that we love to see as our patients overcome their trials.”

NICU nurse Maggie Kolich, BSN, RN, agrees: “Besides discharge day it’s [the NICU reunion] my favorite day of my job; seeing our former patients outside the hospital walls growing to be normal kids.”

This is a Children's Mercy tradition that continues to grow with more and more families attending. “It was so special to us to see our nurses and our NICU neighbor,” said Morgan Comfort, former NICU mom. “It’s great to see how much the babies have all grown!”

The warmth and mutual admiration could be felt throughout the event and there were many teary eyed reunions.

“It was so good for my heart and soul to see the babies we’ve worked so hard with flourish and being happy now,” said occupational therapist Mich Hardy. “When we work with them so early on you just never know how it’s going to turn out and it’s amazing to see them now. The families were so appreciative and wonderful to visit with.”

The next NICU Reunion will be held in 2019 and we are already excited about what that day will bring. Special thanks to our donors and volunteer staff who helped make a great day for the families.

Children’s Mercy is the only top-level (Level IV) NICU in the region. Learn more about the neonatology program and the resources available.

Read our blog: When a friend’s baby is in the NICU: 10 Things You Can Do to Help.

​By Keleigh Gibbs

Even the smallest ghosts and goblins in Kansas City got to celebrate Halloween on Wednesday.

Doctors, nurses and hospital staff at Children’s Mercy made sure no young ones went without treats.

“We just treat it as a blessing that God has given us, and we are grateful for it and we just enjoy the time that we have with her,” said father Brandon West.

When families have a baby in the NICU, they sometimes aren’t able to be at the bedside night and day. That’s where Lois comes in, offering comfort, support and a lullaby or two.

Although Grandma Lois focuses mostly on caring for babies, she’s made a marked difference in the lives of people from across the hospital, including parents. She has gone above and beyond her role, also bringing clothes to the hospital for families.

Lois Lakey, aka "Grandma Lois," is a legendary volunteer at Children's Mercy, rocking babies and comforting families in the NICU for 20 years.

“I try to be the best I can be with these babies. But, it’s not only with the babies I try to share. The parents, they need love too,” she says.

Grandma Lois, who turns 83 on Oct. 31, has been selected for the inaugural class of The Shepherd Center's "70 over 70" Awards, and will be honored at a luncheon on Oct. 30.

For all these reasons and more, Grandma Lois was nominated and selected for a special award. She is a member of the inaugural class of The Shepherd Center’s 70 Over 70 Awards. The Shepherd Center is an organization that empowers volunteers to help enhance the lives of other older adults through learning opportunities and service to the community. The 70 Over 70 celebration recognizes 70 individuals from a variety of backgrounds who inspire others and improve our community.

'This is the spot'

As of Oct. 17, 2018, Grandma Lois has amassed a staggering 26,590 volunteer hours. Even after 20 years, she still remembers how she got the job. When she first became a volunteer, she was led around the hospital to see what spots were available. “We came to the NICU and a baby was crying and the nurse was busy. I said this is the spot,” Lois says.

“There is hardly anyone here who doesn’t know who Grandma is, from housekeeping to the medical staff. Her work is appreciated by so many in the NICU. Her smiles, positive attitude, love, compassion and humor make Children’s Mercy not just a better place for the critically ill babies she holds, but for everyone around her as well,” says Shelly Nicoll, Office Manager, Volunteer & Guest Services.

A countless number of babies have been held and comforted by Grandma Lois over the years, but she loves each one and she sometimes receives pictures and updates from former NICU patients. If she could share one piece of advice with every baby, Grandma Lois says she would tell them, “I love you. Be the best thing you can be in this world.”

Grandma Lois will be honored at a special luncheon for the 70 Over 70 on Oct. 30, perfect timing as her 83rd birthday is Oct. 31.

While we don't currently have volunteer openings in the NICU, there are plenty of other ways you can give back! Learn how you can Get Involved at Children's Mercy.

Kaylee Hurt, Parent Support Program Coordinator, ICN Patient and Family Support Services

Childbirth is supposed to be a joyful time, but when a mother gives birth to a preemie she can feel scared, overwhelmed and isolated in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

I know firsthand what NICU moms are going through, because I was one. My daughter, Kaydee, was born at 25 weeks. She weighed 1 lb., 6 oz. and was 12 inches long. She faced numerous uphill battles and we spent nine months in the NICU before my husband and I brought her home for the first time. That was five years ago. Today, Kaydee is a healthy and active preschooler.

It wasn’t an easy journey, but I learned a lot during my time spent in the NICU at Children’s Mercy. I now work in the same NICU offering my support to other parents, and here are a few things friends and family can do to offer their support too.

Reach out, but don’t expect a reply

Let the new mom know you’re thinking of her and her family. The support is appreciated and means so much, but just know it’s impossible for her to respond to everyone.

When you do speak with the mom, don’t try to relate to her and don’t say “I know how you feel,” because unless you had a baby with the same challenges you don’t truly know how she feels. Instead, just listen. That’s what she needs most during this time someone to just listen.

Tip for NICU moms: Ask a family member to return calls and texts for you. You can also keep friends and family updated through Facebook. I found it was a quick way to share information broadly and it reassured me that I didn’t have to respond to everyone individually. Another tip, limit yourself on Facebook, because it’s hard not to compare your life to others around you.

Say Congratulations

Tell the parents congratulations! This is supposed to be a happy time and even though it’s not exactly what they had hoped for, they still had a child, which should be celebrated. It’s just a different type of celebration.

Tip for NICU moms: This won’t be the celebration you had envisioned, but make sure to celebrate the milestones.

Give Preemie Parents time to Grieve

Family and friends need to understand that grieving is part of the process. While parents are happy their child is alive, they’re also grieving the loss of what they thought was going to be a joyful time, so they need to work through their emotions.

Tip for NICU moms: Recognize that family and friends are also mourning in their own way. My parents had a hard time, because they had to watch me and my family go through the pain and suffering, and they couldn’t do anything about it.

Offer Rides to the Hospital

Something as simple as offering a ride to-and-from the hospital is an easy way to help and can make a world of difference. We lived an hour away, so friends that worked in Kansas City would give me rides to the hospital. My mom or husband would come to visit in the evening and bring me home.

Gas cards are another great gift. The miles can quickly add up when you’re driving to the hospital every day.

Tip for NICU Moms: Go home at night and sleep if you can. You need to take care of yourself, so you can take care of your child to your full potential. Build relationships with the nurses so you feel comfortable leaving the hospital. I would call and check on Kaydee as soon as I got home, before I went to bed, if I woke up in the middle of the night and again in the morning before I headed back to the hospital. I tried to be as connected as possible while away.

Provide Meals

Preparing dinner is the last thing on any NICU parents’ mind. Provide the family with a home-cooked meal, so they don’t have to eat hospital food day after day. Also think about making individual portions that can be frozen and brought to the NICU for lunch.

Give gift certificates to area restaurants. My husband and I always appreciated gift certificates and would go out to eat on our way home from the hospital. We may not say two words to each other, but it was nice to go to dinner and not have an expectation to relive the day.

Make grab-and-go snack packs. Having healthy snacks on hand in the NICU is a must. Granola bars, trail mix and even fresh fruit is a quick way to reenergize throughout the day.

Tip for NICU Moms: If someone offers to take you out for lunch, go! You need to eat and leaving the unit for a couple hours will do you good. Also, don’t forget to drink plenty of water.

Give Coins

It’s not something you think about, but NICU parents need quarters for the vending machines. A church group gave us a basket full of goodies, which included five dollars in quarters and it was a great gift, because you never have change when you need it.

Tip for NICU Moms: Money can carry germs and bacteria, so it’s important to wash your hands after touching dollar bills and coins to help prevent your little one from getting sick.

Give a Journal

A journal makes a great gift. Some moms find it therapeutic to write about their experience in the NICU. In addition to a journal, you can also give word puzzles, adult coloring books and magazines.

Tip for NICU Moms: Don’t forget to take lots of pictures. You baby is growing bigger every day and you’ll want to look back at the milestones someday.

Help with Chores and Pets

Clean the house and do laundry. My mom, her friend and my sister-in-law did this without asking me, because they knew if they’d asked I’d say “no,” but it was so nice coming home to a clean house and clean clothes.

Walk the dog, buy pet food so it’s one less thing they have to worry about or even offer to foster the family pets during the NICU stay.

It’s always the little things that helped the most.

Tip for NICU Moms: Friends and family are going to offer to help. Let them! It gives them a way to show support and it really does let you focus on your family.

Help with Siblings

Parents are juggling a lot during their stay in the NICU, but its important siblings maintain a routine life as much as possible. Offer rides to school, practice or games. Have a playdate or a sleepover, so parents can spend time at the hospital.

Tip for NICU Moms: The hospital has a lot of great programs for siblings. Utilize Child Life for support. They can meet with the sibling and go over what they’re about to experience and they can help entertain kids at the bedside. Include other children in your baby’s care if they’re old enough. After Kaydee came home and we finally got to the point where we’d go out places, I’d have my nieces and nephews be in charge of making sure everyone washed their hands. They took this responsibility very seriously as it was a way for them to help keep Kaydee healthy.

Don’t Forget about Dads and Partners

While moms and babies are usually the main focus, don’t forget about the dads and partners. They also need to take care of themselves and are dealing with the same emotions.

Many times the significant other is still going to work and they’re dealing with the guilt of not being at the hospital every day. Make sure to reach out and let them know you’re thinking of them.

Tip for NICU Moms: Your significant other is really the only other person that knows what you’re going through, so take time for each other. While your child is important, your relationship is as equally important and you’ll need each other to get through this.

Kaylee and her daughter, Kaydee, were featured on Inside Pediatrics in 2014. Watch here.

Children’s Mercy is the only top-level (Level IV) NICU in the region. Learn more about the neonatology program and the resources available.

For kids living with a tracheotomy it can be hard. Not only is the medical procedure difficult, but others might stop and stare. Children's Mercy is going to help with an event later this month - just for them.

Kids like Oliver and Jordan, both 2-years-old, who just met, but have a bond they can't yet comprehend.

"For some children, and people, they stare, and they look at him,"Jordan's mother, Brittany Garcia said.

Both boys live with a tracheostomy. It's a tube that allows them to breathe directly into their windpipes. Ollie has a muscle disorder, while Jordan developed a lung disease from being born premature.

"To Jordan this is just his normal lifestyle," Garcia said. "It's all he's ever known. This is our first child for my husband and I so it's all we know."

However, thanks to Children's Mercy, on September 29, kids just like Jordan and Ollie will come together and play.

If your child has a similar condition, and they would like to be part of the play date, here is what you need to know. The event is on Saturday, September 29 at The Lenexa Community Center. It's from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. You will need to R.S.V.P. by emailing TrachFamilyDay@cmh.edu by September 21 with your child's name, and how many people will be attending.

Read the full story via Fox 4.

Learn more about Infant Tracheostomy Care at Children's Mercy.

According to the CDC, about 1 in 9 women experience symptoms of postpartum depression. While many women experience the “baby blues” in the first two weeks after having a baby (worry, sadness, and tiredness), these symptoms usually resolve on their own. Postpartum Depression is more intense and lasts much longer.                                                                          

We spoke with Kara Hansen, Social Worker, (pictured left) and Melissa Liddle, APRN, (pictured right) about Postpartum Depression, the symptoms and treatment.

Both work in the Fetal Health Center and provide advanced care for patients with select high-risk pregnancies before, during and after delivery. Moms are seen one or two weeks post-delivery and are screened for Postpartum Depression.

What are the signs of Postpartum Depression?

Melissa: First, it’s important to know that Postpartum Depression doesn’t make someone a bad mother. Many women struggle with Postpartum Depression and they’re not alone. One of the best things we can do is educate moms and partners on what Postpartum Depression looks like and who to contact if she is concerned she has symptoms.

Kara: We try to stress to mothers that Postpartum Depression is really the broader term of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. It doesn’t always look like that symbolic medication commercial we've seen, where someone is struggling to get out of bed or not connecting with people. Often times, it can manifest into irritability and anger or feeling overwhelmed, and that really surprises a lot of moms.

Other signs include anxiety, difficulty bonding with the child, frequent tearful moments, sleep disruption, changes in appetite and feelings of guilt. At the end of the day, if you don't feel like yourself you need to speak with an Obstetrician or other healthcare professional that could be helpful in this situation.

How long does Postpartum Depression last?

Melissa: While depression is most common after delivery, it can happen at any point during pregnancy and last up to a year post-delivery, which is why seeing a healthcare provider routinely is important.

As many as 40 percent of women who give birth don’t schedule a postpartum visit with their provider. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, women should have contact (either in person, or over the phone, etc.) with their care provider within three weeks of childbirth. This touchpoint allows providers to assess the risk for Postpartum Depression. In addition to the three week checkup, a comprehensive visit should take place within 12 weeks of delivery.

Kara: A mother is also at higher risk if she has a preexisting condition of depression or underlying anxiety. The weeks following childbirth are critical and it’s important for doctors to assess the mother’s physical recovery from birth, mood and emotional wellbeing and infant care.

What should moms do if they think they have Postpartum Depression?

Melissa: Reach out and ask for help. Talk to a healthcare provider, whether it’s the delivery provider, a primary care provider, or mental health professional. They can also speak with a counselor, their partner or other family members. If something feels “off”: please, reach out.

Kara: I think there's a lot of shame associated with Postpartum Depression, especially as a new mom, because everyone is saying you should be excited - you have this new beautiful baby and everything is wonderful. When in reality, someone struggling with Postpartum Depression likely does not feel that way. Kansas City is very fortunate in that we have the Pregnancy and Postpartum Resource Center and I would encourage anyone in the region dealing with Postpartum Depression to call (913) 677-1300. They have trained volunteers available through a “warm line” and can offer support and guidance by phone.

How do you treat Postpartum Depression?

Kara: Medication is the most formal treatment for those who are clinically depressed. For those with moderate or mild depression, self-care strategies, routine and coping skills can help. For instance, maybe a mom is having trouble with sleep. Literature shows if we can address those sleep problems, in general, the mood usually improves. When moms are burning the candle at both ends it doesn’t serve them or the baby well. This is especially important for moms who have a child in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to understand that it’s ok to go home and get some sleep. For busy new moms, a coping skills that we often frequently recommend is using a meditation app, which doesn’t take away time from their routine. They can plug in headphones and listen at any time. Some people also find it cathartic to write thoughts briefly in a journal.

Melissa: As Kara noted, sleep is critical to one’s well-being especially in the postpartum mother. If possible, overnight assistance is beneficial; overnight help can include providing assistance with newborn care. If mom is lactating and pumping, let them clean the pump and equipment so you can get back to bed. Adequate nutrition is key. Moms, especially those who are lactating, should pack snacks that provide protein and carbohydrates, and are ready to grab-and-go. Consume healthy snacks after breastfeeding or pumping. Given the benefits, moms are determined to provide human breastmilk; however, this can lead to maternal sleep deprivation and neglect regarding their own nutrition and hydration.

How can friends and family help new moms?

Melissa: The key is to let the mother focus on self-care, and limiting other life stressors for her. Do tangible things, such as offering to help with laundry, house work, feeding the baby when possible or taking care of siblings.

Kara: Every mom is different and has different needs. Maybe someone has mail they need picked up down the end of the street or a dog that needs walked. Friends and family will often ask how they can help, so we encourage moms to write out a list before birth, because it’s hard to reach out for help when struggling.

What is the biggest takeaway for moms?

Melissa: Every adult should be screened for depression once a year, using a validated screening tool, and all women should be screened during pregnancy and postpartum. Know the symptoms of perinatal mood disorders, what you can do, and how you can be empowered to reach out for help.

Kara: A healthy mom means a healthy baby. For most people, postpartum depression is treatable, especially if they get in front of it early. We really encourage moms to reach out when they first have symptoms and not let it worsen or build. It’s really about that continuation of care.

Addtional Resources:

Edinburgh Depression Screening

Postpartum Support International

Pregnancy and Postpartum Resource Center

Depression Center Toolkit

Recommended Meditation App:

Calm

Learn more about postpartum and recovery, and The Fetal Health Center at Children’s Mercy Hospital.

Dr. Jodi Jackson has worked for years to address infant mortality in Kansas. Often, that means she is treating newborns in a high-tech neonatal intensive care unit with sophisticated equipment whirring and beeping. That is exactly the wrong place for an infant like Lili.

Lili's mother, Victoria, used heroin for the first two-thirds of her pregnancy and hated herself for it. (NPR is using her first name only, because she has used illegal drugs.)

"When you are in withdrawal, you feel your baby that's in withdrawal too," says Victoria, recalling the sensations she remembers from her pregnancy. "You feel your baby uncomfortable inside of you, and you know that. And then you use and then the baby's not [uncomfortable], and that's a really awful, vulgar thought, but it's true. That's how it is. It's terrible."

Though Victoria went into recovery before giving birth, Lili was born dependent on the methadone Victoria took to treat her opioid addiction. Treatment for infants like Lili has evolved, Jackson says.

"What happened 10, 15 years ago, is [drug dependent] babies were immediately removed from the mom, and they were put in an ICU warmer with bright lights with nobody holding them," says Jackson, who is a neonatologist at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. "Of course, they are going to be upset about that! And so the risk of withdrawal is much higher."

Read the full article via NPR.

Learn more about the neonatology team at Children's Mercy.

What is preeclampsia? Preeclampsia typically occurs any time after 20 weeks gestation and, more rarely, can develop up to six weeks postpartum. Women with preeclampsia generally experience high blood pressure and protein in the urine.

Symptoms can come on suddenly and can include severe swelling, headaches, abdominal pain, shortness of breath, nausea and/or vomiting and visual disturbances.

African American women are particularly at risk for the condition and are three times more likely to die from it. No one knows exactly why, but researchers are pursuing several lines of inquiry.

“How much of this risk is due to environment? How much of it is systemic racism? And how much of it is just having a genetic predisposition?” says perinatologist Devika Maulik, MD, who treats patients at Children’s Mercy Hospital and Truman Medical Center and is an assistant professor at the UMKC School of Medicine.

Read the full article via KC Parent magazine.

Learn more about the Elizabeth J. Ferrell Fetal Health Center at Children's Mercy.

By Elise Reuter

Although Boston Children's Hospital remains the nation's No. 1 pediatric hospital, Children's Mercy in Kansas City scored higher marks this year, according to the annual ranking of the top pediatric care centers by U.S. News & World Report.

The Kansas City-based children's hospital did not make the honor roll of the top 10 U.S. children's hospitals, but it did rank in the top 50 for all 10 specialties the report measured.

In particular, Children's Mercy advanced in two specialties: cardiology and nephrology.

Read the full article via the Kansas City Business Journal.

See where more Children's Mercy specialties ranked in the annual report.

Six Children’s Mercy specialties are now in the top 25, with four in the top 15:

• Nephrology/Kidney (#5)
• Orthopedics (#12)
• Cardiology and Heart Surgery (#13)
• Urology (#15)
• Diabetes and Endocrinology (#20)
• Gastroenterology/Digestive Disorders (#25)

“Our Nephrology team once again led the way by ranking fifth in the nation. Six of our other specialties made substantial gains,” says Dr. Randall L. O’Donnell, President and CEO of Children’s Mercy. “We are doing extraordinary work and will continue to practice, teach and research ways to provide the best outcomes for families everywhere.”

This year, U.S. News surveyed more than 180 pediatric centers to gather clinical and operational data. This data was then combined with results from a reputational survey in which board-certified pediatric specialists representing the 10 areas were asked where they would send the sickest children in their specialty.

Those pediatric specialties include: cancer, cardiology, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology, neonatology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology and urology.

The full rankings and methodology are available at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals.

About Children’s Mercy Kansas City

Founded in 1897, Children’s Mercy is one of the nation’s top pediatric medical centers. With not-for-profit hospitals in Missouri and Kansas, and numerous specialty clinics in both states, Children’s Mercy provides the highest level of care for children from birth through the age of 21. U.S. News & World Report has repeatedly ranked Children’s Mercy as one of “America's Best Children's Hospitals.” For the fourth time in a row, Children’s Mercy has achieved Magnet nursing designation, awarded to fewer than seven percent of all hospitals nationally, for excellence in quality care. Its faculty of more than 700 pediatric subspecialists and researchers across more than 40 subspecialties are actively involved in clinical care, pediatric research, and educating the next generation of pediatric subspecialists. Thanks to generous philanthropic and volunteer support, Children’s Mercy provides medical care to every child who passes through its doors, regardless of a family’s ability to pay. For more information about Children’s Mercy and its research, visit childrensmercy.org. For breaking news and videos, follow us on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

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Missouri has one of the highest rates of maternal smoking in the country, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new report reveals that one in 14 women who gave birth in the U.S. in 2016, or 7.2 percent, reported smoking during pregnancy.

But in Missouri, that figure is much higher, with 15.3 percent of women reporting smoking during pregnancy.

“It’s pretty pervasive to have moms who smoke here in Kansas City and it is hard because there’s so much we don’t know still in terms of how to help them,” said Devika Maulik, an assistant professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and an obstetrician-gynecologist at Children’s Mercy and Truman Medical Center who specializes in high-risk pregnancies.

Smoking can have a huge impact on a pregnancy, Maulik said. It can increase the risk of pre-term birth, cause the fetus to be smaller, increase the risk of stillbirth, and increase the risk for SIDS after birth.

“Long-term data also show that babies born to smoking mothers are more likely to have asthma and obesity,” Maulik said.

Read the full article via the Kansas City Star. 

Learn more about services offered through the Fetal Health Center at Children's Mercy. 

By Ian Cummings

Doctors call it a one-in-a-million birth.

Identical triplets were born Thursday at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, according to hospital officials. Doctors say such births are even more rare than identical twins, and often require special care for the mother and children.

In this case, baby boys Ron, Elkanah, and Abishai were born just minutes apart from each other and on Sunday were “doing wonderfully” under observation in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, according to Dr. Josh Petrikin, medical director of the NICU, who is also on staff at Children’s Mercy.

photo: Truman Medical Centers

The mother, Nicole Choge of Ottawa, Kan., rested Sunday while her husband Caleb spoke with news reporters.

The couple, who already had a 2-year-old son, were expecting another baby but were surprised when a sonogram revealed the triplets. Identical triplets occur in about 20 or 30 of every million births, according to a 2003 study in the Journal of Biosocial Science.

Read the full article via the Kansas City Star.

Learn more about the Fetal Health Center at Children's Mercy.

When Jillian and Christian MacNamara found out in early 2015 that they were having twin boys, they were thrilled. But at 24 weeks, an ultrasound showed that one twin, whom they named Frank, had a severe heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome. A series of three open-heart surgeries offered a chance of keeping him alive, but there was no way to know how healthy or severely impaired he might be. Without treatment, he probably wouldn’t live long after birth.

After two weeks of agonizing, the MacNamaras decided against surgery. That led them into a sorrowful frontier of modern medicine: caring for babies who don’t have long to live.

In 2015, Elvira Parravicini, a neonatologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, started a formal program there to care for families who decide to continue pregnancies despite grave prenatal diagnoses. The number of such programs, still few in the U.S., has risen in recent years, alongside improvements in diagnostic imaging and new options for prenatal testing.

Dr. Parravicini began taking on such cases about a decade ago. At a meeting discussing high-risk pregnancies, she volunteered to offer what in medicine is known as “comfort care” for a woman whose fetus had a severe heart defect and trisomy 18, a genetic condition in which individuals have three copies of chromosome 18 instead of the normal two. Many decide to terminate such pregnancies, but the woman wanted to be able to hold her baby.

The hospital didn’t have a protocol to follow. When the baby was born, Dr. Parravicini encouraged the mother and daughter to bond. The infant died at the hospital a few days later, wearing a butterfly-covered outfit that Dr. Parravicini had bought.

When she first meets families, Dr. Parravicini tells them that most babies will die peacefully and, in her experience, without pain. She won’t predict how long a baby will live; she has often been surprised.

Her goals are to keep the babies comfortable, clean and warm, free of hunger and pain. Infants who live longer than 12 hours must be fed, sometimes with help from a feeding specialist. “They need to live a beautiful life,” Dr. Parravicini says, “enjoying whatever is possible for them to enjoy.”

The program also offers religious observances, a volunteer photographer, specialists who can work with older siblings, social workers and a psychologist.

Neonatologists have always had to care for newborns who won’t live long, but without guidelines, the quality of care has varied widely, says Brian Carter, a neonatologist at Children’s Mercy. In the past 15 years, Dr. Carter, Dr. Parravicini and others have begun developing evidence-based standards for medical care and psychological support for families, but they aren’t yet standard.

Read the full article via The Wall Street Journal.

Learn more about the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children.s Mercy.

Whether it’s planned or completely unexpected, when your baby is in the NICU, life just gets overwhelming. I hope that no one ever has to go through having a baby in the NICU but if you do (or have friends or family who do), here are some tips to help.

For Mamas:

• Designate someone to field calls, texts, inquiries and people volunteering to do things for you. We are so lucky to have so many caring people in our lives but trying to communicate with all of our family, church, work and other friends was just not possible. We posted on Facebook occasionally but ran everything through my sister who coordinated messages to friends about what was happening and consolidated questions so we weren’t overwhelmed.
• It’s OK to say no to visitors. At Children’s Mercy, only two adults can be in the NICU pods at a time so visitors meant that either my husband or I had to leave our baby. For us, only our parents and older kids visited while he was there. And our friends understood.

Read more of Julie's tips for moms and suggestions for family and friends via Kansas City Moms Blog.

Learn more about the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children's Mercy, the highest-level NICU in the region.

It's only been five years since the American Academy of Pediatrics created the level four designation of neonatal intensive care units. 

Known as NICUs, they are facilities that treat the smallest and most critically ill babies. 

Neonatology has only been recognized as a profession since 1960. But Children's Mercy Kansas City – the only level four NICU in the region – is demonstrating how much can be accomplished when a band of specialists with a passion for treating newborns is brought together. 

Children's Mercy Director of Neonatology, Dr. Howard Kilbride, says premature birth was, for many years, the single biggest threat to babies. 

"That, no longer, is the primary cause of death in babies that we're seeing,” he states. It's close, but congenital anomalies or birth differences make up probably the leading cause of neonatal deaths now for us."

Research shows a 2.2-pound baby born in 1960 had a mortality risk of 95 percent. Today the probability of survival for that same 1 kilogram newborn is 95 percent. 

Kilbride says his hospital’s NICU has 80 beds and 300 bedside nurses who are specialized in caring for infants. 

In his five-plus decades of work as a neonatologist, Kilbride acknowledges he's experienced lots of emotional highs and lows with his patients and their families. 

"I am just always in awe at the resilience of the families that we deal with and the ability to be able to cope," he states.

Read the full article via Public News Service.

Learn more about the region's only Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Read about the Elizabeth J. Ferrell Fetal Health Center at Children's Mercy which provides integrated maternal-fetal care for selected high-risk pregnancies.

It means some of her organs were in her chest cavity.

Flipping through old pictures can be difficult for Tara Edwards.

“Just documenting her life, not knowing if or when – God forbid it happened – that she wouldn’t be here anymore.”

Her daughter Josie's survival chances weren’t good.

She was put on a machine called ECMO that bypassed her heart and lungs.

But she still needed surgery that had rarely been done before.

That was a decade ago.

Wednesday – Josie turned 10-years-old. And she got to meet one of the doctors at Children’s Mercy who saved her life.

See the full story via KMBC 9.

Learn more about the region's only Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Read about the Elizabeth J. Ferrell Fetal Health Center at Children's Mercy which provides integrated maternal-fetal care for selected high-risk pregnancies.