INSIDE RADY CHILDREN’S
Partners in Care THE IMPACT A collaboration between Rady Children’s and Scripps Health benefits both new moms and babies
LAURA MELLO’S FIRST PREGNANCY SEEMED LIKE A RUN-OF-THE-MILL EXPERIENCE until it took a dramatic turn and her premature baby required specialized care to survive. “I had an easy pregnancy in the beginning,” says Laura. “It was a boring, plain-old pregnancy and the baby was doing well. I was naïve to think that nothing could go wrong—I was a first-time mom, so how would I know? But it went from easy to complicated in a heartbeat.” With pregnancy complications that included pre- eclampsia and hypertension, Laura needed an emergency C-section nearly 10 weeks early to deliver her baby safely. Baby Grace came into the world at a tiny 2 pounds, 12 ounces, and because of her premature age, it was difficult for Grace to breathe. The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) team at the Scripps hospital where Laura delivered stabilized Grace, but it was decided that she needed more intensive and specialized neonatal care.
the only Level 4 NICU in San Diego. The Level 4 NICU is a major referral center for the most critically ill newborns, many of whom suffer from severe heart and lung conditions or are born extremely prematurely. A Level 4 NICU is the highest designation available from the American Academy of Pediatrics, and it was exactly what Grace needed to survive. After only a few hours at Scripps, Grace was whisked away to spend the first 45 days of her life at Rady Children’s. “I had so much confidence in my care team. I knew my baby and I were in the best of hands,” Laura says. “I could breathe a sigh of relief—the cavalry was there! That relieved a lot of my anxiety.” While Grace was receiving the care she needed after birth, the care team at Scripps was attending to Laura. During delivery, Laura’s placenta separated from her uterus—called placental abruption—and caused severe bleeding. Doctors had to act quickly to save her life. “It was a serious situation for me. I really had no idea how bad things were. I was just thinking about my baby and wanting to make sure she was safe. But my care team had it handled and saved my life.” After three days, Laura was discharged and made her way over to Rady Children’s to spend the first month-and-a-half of her daughter’s life in her private hospital room surrounded by NICU nurses that quickly became an extension of her family. Around Thanksgiving, Laura and her husband got good news. They could go home— together. Within three months Grace caught up
Luckily for Laura and her family, Rady Children’s physicians and nurses take care of sick babies within all of the Scripps NICUs—no matter the level of care needed.
Scripps clinical teams work closely with Rady Children’s neonatologists to treat infants with conditions ranging from minor to moderate—at the Level 2 NICUs at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas, Scripps Mercy Hospital San
Diego and Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista—to potentially life- threatening at a Level 3 NICU at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. Patients have come to expect expert care from birth to their discharge home.
LAURA MELLO (PREGNANT WITH ELOISE)
“We are proud to bring Rady Children’s neonatal services to the community in an effort to keep mothers and babies together after delivery,” notes Jane O’Donnell, MD, regional director of neonatal services at Rady Children’s and medical director of the Rady/Scripps La Jolla NICU. But if necessary, the partnership allows babies that need the highest level of care to be seamlessly transferred to Rady Children’s Level 4 NICU on its main campus,
26 HEALTHY KIDS MAGAZINE SUMMER 2023
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