Le Bonheur Children's Hospital

Moving day is here for some of Le Bonheur's tiniest patients! Several of our patients in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) recently moved into the brand-new NICU expansion making room for more babies to receive expert care at Le Bonheur. The NICU recently added 14 beds to the unit with room to expand further in the future.

Soon after joining the Le Bonheur family, Social Worker Nathaniel Huckaby became a valued team member of the Neuroscience Unit. He jumped right in and quickly made a connection with the nursing staff. Huckaby goes out of his way for patients and families in their time of need by arranging rides, food vouchers and picking up medications from the outpatient pharmacy. Recently, a child was alone at the bedside, and Huckaby took him for a wagon ride to the staff lounge for lunch. “He lovingly talked to this child the whole time. I am sure he had a million things to do, but he knew the staff was busy and that this child needed extra love,” said Sherine Lautrup, RN. Huckaby is a dependable colleague and even regularly assists nurses. He attends the morning team huddle and checks in with the team when he arrives and before he leaves to ensure a point of contact. Huckaby frequently goes one step further when nurses need an extra hand with patients or providing a voice of reason in stressful situations. “We truly believe we are lucky to have Nathan as our social worker and hope he realizes how much he is loved and appreciated on this floor,” said Lautrup. Nathaniel recently received a #powerofone award for going above and beyond in the care he provides every day.

We are so excited that the Le Bonheur Children’s Inpatient Unit at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital were able to participate in the vibrant West Tennessee Strawberry Festival Parade in Humboldt, Tenn.! Thank you to everyone who participated to help spread community spirit and celebrate our Le Bonheur kids in West Tennessee.

Whether at home or out in public, knowing how to control bleeding can make a life-or-death difference when the need arises. Stop the Bleed is an effort to encourage bystanders to become trained, equipped and empowered to help in a bleeding emergency before professional help arrives. Review the basics of bleeding control in the blog post below. Le Bonheur's Trauma Services team also offers group training for these bleeding control principles. https://ow.ly/7qV050RENpC

We recently celebrated another milestone in our Critical Care Expansion here at Le Bonheur. Our 31-bed dedicated Cardiovascular Unit that has added 10 CVICU beds to the existing 10-bed unit and create room for a 11-bed flexible step-down cardiac unit has been completed. We can't wait to take care of even more kids who depend on the word-class cardiac care we provide here at Le Bonheur!

This health care week at Le Bonheur Children's, we took a moment to celebrate our incredible health care heroes who work tirelessly to ensure the well-being of our patients and families. Thank you to each member of our Le Bonheur community for your dedication, compassion and unwavering commitment to providing exceptional care every day! You truly make a difference in the lives of children and families.

Are you registered for the Practice Based Pediatrics Conference? Join us this Friday, May 17, to learn more about the state-of-the-art practices and trends in treating pediatric conditions. Register and learn more at the link below. https://ow.ly/7fgY50REMoC

We couldn’t let Nurse’s Week pass without shouting out the best there is. Nurses are the heart of Le Bonheur. Whether they are working in our inpatient units, in an acute care setting, in our clinics throughout the region, or out in the community, nurses are making a difference in the lives of children and their families. Thank you to every Le Bonheur nurse for the work you do every day.

For young children, early dental checkups reduce the risk of tooth decay, the development of cavities and helps establish a life-long foundation of good oral health. On this episode of the "Peds Pod," Craig Vinall, DDS, MDS, with the department of Pediatric Dentistry and Community Oral Health at the The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, talks about what parents can do to keep their kid’s smiles bright. https://ow.ly/KjFJ50Rxvk5

We are thrilled to celebrate the opening of our Critical Care Expansion, the largest building expansion since the current hospital tower opened in 2010. This expansion allowed us to add 14 additional beds to our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), create a 31-bed dedicated Cardiovascular Unit, add a new MRI-guided cardiac catheterization lab for a total of three catheterization labs and expand the surgery recovery area with eight new Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) bays. This milestone marks a significant step forward in our continued commitment to providing top-notch care to kids. Thank you to everyone who helped make this expansion possible and for those who came to celebrate with us!