Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation to Host 6th Annual NICUSTRONG Walk to Advance Care for Smallest Patients

Newswise — Hackensack, NJ – August 30, 2023 – On Sunday, September 10, Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation will host its 6th Annual NICUSTRONG Walk at Van Saun Park in Paramus. Proceeds from the event will support the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center. 

“Our NICU at Hackensack University Medical Center provides the highest level of care for newborns with complex medical needs,” said Lisa Renee Eiland, M.D., FAAP, chief of Neonatology at Hackensack University Medical Center. “Our patients are small but mighty warriors, and every dollar raised through NICUSTRONG has a profound effect on the care our babies and their families receive. Support allows us to ensure we have the most advanced technology and most compassionate, highly-trained teams to provide the best-in-class care every day. I look forward to this year’s NICUSTRONG Walk!”

Generous support from NICUSTRONG’s community of donors have funded innovative treatment, technology and equipment; research and support for patients and families, including research into respiratory issues in premature babies at Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health at Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital and Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation; the purchase of life-like manikins to facilitate professional development for nurses; and social programs for our parents. This year, funds will support the Beads of Courage program, a program where beads are given to commemorate a patient’s  achievement of milestones and moments of courage during the NICU journey.  . and a new literacy initiative called Reach Out and Read, which will provide books to families to promote language development and family bonding.

Hackensack University Medical Center has also partnered with the March of Dimes to implement its NICU Family Support Program®, which improves patient experience by  providing  families with virtual and in-person access to caretaker  education, ongoing quarterly team member  education in patient-centered care and ready access and support from March of Dimes experts.  . It also provides families with access to the Compass by March of Dimes™ app as well as various print resources. 

Support from the March of Dimes has also enabled the hospital to recruit a dedicated family support coordinator, who provides valuable guidance and resources to families as they adjust to life in the NICU. 

“Since our first walk in 2018, our dedicated community of team members and partners, along with patient families and their loved ones, have raised nearly $500,000 to make a powerful impact in our NICU,” said Richard Knupp, vice president of Development, North at Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation. “We are all NICUSTRONG, and we truly look forward to seeing our patients and their care teams come together for another successful year in benefit of our NICU.”

To participate in this year’s NICUSTRONG Walk visit GiveHMH.org/NICUSTRONG.

ABOUT HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

Hackensack University Medical Center, a 803-bed nonprofit teaching and research hospital, was Bergen County’s first hospital founded in 1888. It was also the first hospital in New Jersey and second in the nation to become a Magnet®-recognized hospital for nursing excellence, receiving its sixth consecutive designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The academic flagship of the Hackensack Meridian Health network, Hackensack University Medical Center has a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the highest rating offered by the federal agency’s Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating Program. Hackensack University Medical Center is ranked #1 in N.J. by the annual U.S. News & World Report 2023-24 Best Hospital rankings – the only N.J. hospital with the #1 adult and children’s hospital rankings. Additionally, U.S. News & World Report ranked Hackensack University Medical Center #6 overall in the New York Metropolitan area and #32 in the nation. The hospital also earned multiple recognitions for high-performing procedures and conditions that include having the following best nationally-ranked programs in NJ: Cardiology, Heart & Vascular Surgery (#42); Pulmonology and Lung Surgery (#24); Geriatrics (#36). Hackensack University Medical Center is the only NJ hospital nationally ranked in Neurology and Neurosurgery (#22), Urology (#27) and Orthopedics (#33) as well as being home to The John Theurer Cancer Center, a premier cancer center in the state. Named to Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals 2023 list, Hackensack University Medical Center is also the recipient of the 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ by Healthgrades as well as an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group. This award-winning care is provided on a campus that is home to facilities such as the Heart & Vascular Hospital; and the Sarkis and Siran Gabrellian Women’s and Children’s Pavilion, which houses the Donna A. Sanzari Women’s Hospital and the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital, also ranked #1 in the state and top 20 in the Mid-Atlantic Region in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-24 Best Children’s Hospital Report. Additionally, the children’s cancer, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, and urology programs ranks in the top 50 in the United States. Hackensack University Medical Center is listed on the Green Guide’s list of Top 10 Green Hospitals in the U.S. Our comprehensive clinical research portfolio includes studies focused on precision medicine, translational medicine, immunotherapy, cell therapy, and vaccine development. The hospital campus is also home to the Helena Theurer Pavilion, the largest healthcare expansion project ever approved by the state: The 530,000-sq.-ft., nine-story surgical and intensive care tower is considered N.J. ‘s first ‘smart hospital’ and houses 24 state-of-the-art operating rooms with intraoperative MRI capability, 50 ICU beds, and 175 medical/surgical beds including a 50 room Musculoskeletal Institute.