‘NICU Stars’ Honored at Hospital Celebration

A recent “graduation” celebration for children who have been treated in the Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Crown Point Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and their families, indeed was a special celebration for such parents as Audrey Finnearty and her twins Brody and Stella. The children were born prematurely and spent two months in the hospital, while their mother spent two months prior to their birth in the hospital’s Obstetrics Unit, to treat another condition.

Finnearty, who spent 10 to 15 hours daily in the hospital after the births, said she regarded the staff as “a wonderful family,” adding, “I wouldn’t have made it without these people and neither would have my children.”


They and more than 70 other children (and some 200 family members) were introduced over the public address system and walked a red carpet as they entered the hospital’s Marian Education Center for an afternoon of activities that included refreshments, face-painting, music and a visit from Mickey Mouse. NICU manager Karen Reno said she and her staff had the idea for the celebration, which also included a “I’m a NICU Star” t-shirt for each child.


The unit opened in March 2011 and has served more than 600 patients.