NEWS

Students create milestone markers for families with babies in NICU

Posted 5/24/22

By EMMA BARTLETT

Carefully arranged in two containers are a colorful collection of 650 envelopes which hold milestone markers that will be delivered to parents at Women and Infants Hospital who …

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NEWS

Students create milestone markers for families with babies in NICU

Posted

By EMMA BARTLETT

Carefully arranged in two containers are a colorful collection of 650 envelopes which hold milestone markers that will be delivered to parents at Women and Infants Hospital who have babies in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU). The milestone markers are meant to track a baby’s progress and celebrate the major moments that bring the babies closer to going home. Juniors Mia Boscia, Kayla Tortorella, Abbey Regan created the community service project for their SkillsUSA competition and intend to deliver the milestone markers once Covid infection rates decrease.

“Once they pass a certain milestone, it’s a celebration for parents since the kids are one step closer to getting home,” said Boscia.

The students had six months to create their project; since the three had an interest in the medical field, the girls decided to keep their project related to the medical field. After a brainstorm session, Tortorella came up with the milestone marker idea and the three of them got to work.

The milestone markers consist of nine post-it sized cards that allow parents to track their baby’s progress while in the NICU. The major milestone markers include: I’m breathing on my own, I'm tube free, first breastfeeding, first bath, first bottle, first outfit, first crib and NICU graduate; there is also a card where nurses can add the baby’s weight.

“I think they’ve done an unbelievable job targeting such a vulnerable population,” said Lauren Fontaine, Cranston Area Career and Technical Center (CACTC) teacher.

Fontaine works full time at the CACTC and currently works Per Diem at Women and Infants – this is her fourth year there. She helps take care of moms, those you are postpartum and who have babies in the NICU.

“To give them a gift means the world to them,” Fontaine said.

The group presented their project at the regional SkillsUSA event held at Johnson and Wales back in March. They presented in front of two judges. Several weeks later, they received gold medals for their project at the SkillsUSA Awards Ceremony at VETS Memorial Auditorium. Since the team received gold, they now get to compete in the national SkillsUSA competition in Atlanta, Georgia. Nationals start June 19 and will go on for one week. According to the SkillsUSA’s website, the organization is a “partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce.”

Boscia said her role in the project included reaching out to hospitals. This was her favorite part because she felt that she learned how to write professional emails. So far she has been in contact with Women and Infants and is looking to also expand the letters to other states and deliver to UMass Memorial Health Care and Hasbro Children’s Hospital. Currently, the students are waiting for the go ahead to enter the hospitals since there has been a spike in Covid.

Tortorella handled the design aspect of the project, saying her mom who’s a graphic designer was able to help with the milestone markers. Additionally, the students had some assistance in putting together the 650 milestone markers.

Volunteers came out and helped put together the letters and the students spread word about the volunteer opportunity through fliers and having teachers upload the information to their classes Google Classrooms. Additionally, Boscia said the project retrieved a lot of recognition from winning regionals so a lot of people in the school knew about their project. Boscia and Tororella said there were a lot of students who they met for the first time at the card making event. Their latest card making event had over 20 students helping.

Boscia and Tortorella first heard about CACTC’s medical pathways program through the open house tour. Boscia said her mom is a nurse and her dad is a psychologist and caused her interest in the medical field. She would like to go to Rhode Island College and complete her pre-requisites and go into trauma nursing. She applied for the program in eight grade. Tortorella said she took a tour of the pathways programs when she was in eighth grade and after walking into the medical pathway rooms, knew that this was what she wanted to do. She would like to go into aesthetic nursing.

In preparation for Nationals, the team has created a 30 page notebook explaining the project’s objectives and how it affected the community and school – this is double the size of what they needed for regionals. Additionally, students must memorize the project.

CACTC’s medical pathway program has 179 students. The program explores structure and function of the human body, disease processes, first aid, CPR and patient care skills. Some of the highlights include C.N.A. or EMT certifications, First Aid/CPR certifications by APA, two credits at RIC’s Early Enrollment program, internship opportunities, OSHA certification in healthcare, SkillsUSA competition and financial literacy.

mile markers, NICU

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