Riverton Hospital NICU team creates ‘zoo’ to bond with baby

If you hear growling coming from Riverton Hospital’s NICU these days, it’s not cause for concern; it’s probably just a caregiver demonstrating a lion’s roar or an elephant’s trumpet.

Little Rori was born in March, but had lingering health issues and hasn’t been released to go home yet. Most infants in newborn intensive care units don’t stay long, but Rori has spent more than three months in Riverton’s NICU. That has given caregivers there a unique opportunity to watch her develop, and they have gone out of their way to foster that development and bond with her.

Nurse coordinator Leanna Immenschuh said she tries to visit Rori daily, whether or not she is assigned to her care. On one beautiful spring day, Leanna asked if she could take Rori to the zoo. It wasn’t possible to leave the care site, so Leanna decided to bring the zoo to the hospital by cutting out and laminating pictures of animals to put up around the baby’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,” Leanna said. “It started with a zebra and a tiger. She seemed to like them. It was cute to see her reactions. She looks at them often.”

Leanna rotates in new animals for variety, and caregivers take turns introducing Rori to the new animals and teaching her what sounds they make.  

“She loves being talked to, and I especially enjoy seeing her progress,” Leanna said. “We will walk around her ‘zoo’ and talk about the different animals. We look out the window and talk about the things we see. We feel it is important to keep her engaged and happy to boost her development while in the NICU.”

AnnJanette Jenson, the Riverton NICU nurse manager, said that her staff members have essentially adopted Rori.

“They come to me every day with a list of what this baby needs,” AnnJanette said, noting that even administrators have gotten involved in Rori’s daily routine. “It’s kind of fun to see the team stretch to cover her needs. They cuddle her and talk to her, and our chief nursing officer comes to hold her, too.”

The impact of Rori’s lengthy stay is still spreading. One 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. Riverton didn’t have a Cuddler program in place, so AnnJanette contacted Intermountain Medical Center about instituting a program.

“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 AnnJanette’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,” AnnJanette 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), Riverton’s NICU is somewhere between small and medium, but its impact on patients and families is large.

“Rori is such a sweet girl,” Leanna said. “Our unit is planning on having a ‘101 days in the NICU’ party, with a theme of 101 Dalmatians. We have loved being a part of her development and growth. We have seen so many positive changes in her and hope she does well when she goes home.”