NICU Caregivers at Intermountain Riverton Hospital Go Extra Mile and Bring Zoo to Baby Rori

Baby Rori was born last March but had lingering health issues and had to spend time at Intermountain Riverton Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Most infants in newborn intensive care units don’t stay long, but Rori had spent more than three months in the NICU. Her stay gave caregivers in the NICU a unique opportunity to watch her and help her develop and grow – and along the way they developed a special bond with her.

NICU nurse coordinator Leanna Immenschuh said she tried to visit Rori daily, regardless of whether she was assigned to her care, just so she could check in on the tiny newborn.

One beautiful spring day, Immenschuh  asked if she could take Rori to the zoo. Since it wasn’t possible to leave the hospital, Immenschuh decided to bring the zoo to the hospital by cutting out and laminating pictures of animals to put up around little Rori’s crib.

“I had always taken my kids to the zoo at a few months old, so I wanted my little friend to experience the zoo and have that experience,” Immenschuh  said. “It started with a zebra and a tiger. She seemed to like them. It was cute to see her reactions. She looked at them often.”

Immenschuh  rotated in new animals for variety, and caregivers took turns introducing Rori to the new animals and teaching her what sounds they make.

Little Rori and her care team would walk around her ‘zoo’, talk about the different animals, and look out the window and talk about the things they saw.

Rori’s care team felt it was important to keep her engaged and happy to boost her development while healing and growing in the NICU.

AnnJanette Jenson, NICU nurse manager at Intermountain Riverton Hospital, said that her staff grew to love Rori and essentially adopted the newborn as she continued to recover during her lengthy stay in the NICU.

“They come to me every day with a list of what this baby needed,” Jenson said, noting that even hospital administrators were involved in Rori’s daily routine. “It’s kind of fun to see the team stretch to cover her needs. They cuddled her and talked to her, and our chief nursing officer came in to hold her, too.”

The impact of Rori’s lengthy stay is still spreading.

One NICU nurse lobbied for a stroller, which would be better for chauffeuring Rori around the hallways, so now the NICU has a stroller for future patients.

Intermountain Riverton Hospital doesn’t have a volunteer cuddler program in place, so Jenson contacted Intermountain Medical Center about instituting a program at her hospital.

“This baby has sparked lot of change for us at Riverton,” AnnJanette said. “We’re not used to older babies in the NICU.”

It is not; however, the first time Jenson’s team has made special efforts for a patient.

When the older brother of a newborn was sick and couldn’t visit the NICU, a nurse dressed the baby as a whale and drew a card with a message for the brother: “I whaley love you.”

“The mom was in tears telling that story,” Jenson recalled. “My nurses are pretty amazing about doing special things for families.”

With 19 beds, a staff of 42 nurses, and an average daily census of 10 (and rising), Intermountain Riverton Hospital’s NICU isn’t giant like some hospitals, but its impact on patients and families from the community is significant.

“Nurses go the extra mile often because it’s innate. They’ll go the extra mile for their patients,” said Jenson.  “To parents who find themselves in the unexpectedness of the NICU, hold on tight. Every day is a rollercoaster, and we’ll do our best to take care of your baby.”

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 33 hospitals, 385 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For more information or updates, see https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.