SAGINAW, MI — The healing power of a warm embrace works both ways for Jenean Provenzano and Katie Engelhardt, a mother-daughter duo who are among volunteers providing 24-hour care to some of the most vulnerable babies born at Covenant HealthCare.
The twosome is part of the Saginaw-based hospital’s Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (or NICU, for short) volunteer unit. Some call it “the cuddler program,” a phrase that describes one of the group’s primary tasks: Holding babies whose health challenges necessitate a prolonged stay at Covenant HealthCare’s Harrison facility.
“You get so much more than you give,” said Provenzano, who retired as a nurse at the hospital and joined the volunteer cuddler corps in 2019. “It’s just very, very rewarding to do.”
The “cuddler” volunteer program dates back to 1996, when officials at the hospital launched the initiative in part based on research showing that holding babies aids in their development.
Three decades later now, the initiative has grown to a 51-volunteer rotation, with participants spending four-hour shifts apiece keeping watch over the 55-bed NICU’s tiny inhabitants.
Their volunteerism includes other tasks related to upkeep at the NICU, but the main draw to the work involves holding and comforting the babies, often when the infants are awake and crying while their parents are not present.
The volunteers leave the medical care in the hands of the doctors and nursing staff who monitor and tend to the little ones’ needs.
Most babies in the unit are there because they were born prematurely, necessitating medical care to ensure their earlier-than-expected entry into the world goes as smoothly as possible. Other babies land a bed in the NICU — which supports newborns from families across a large chunk of Michigan’s lower peninsula — for reasons such as birth complications, respiratory issues and feeding difficulties.
While some of the infants reside there for only a few days, others’ health conditions can lead to a months-long stay.
“There’s a reason why the cuddler program exists, and it’s because these babies need to be held,” said Engelhardt, who started volunteering there in January. “It’s great for us, and it’s cozy and it’s sweet. But there’s also a benefit for the infants.”
Engelhardt, who works full-time as a risk management specialist at the hospital and previously spent nine years as a NICU nurse, volunteers Tuesday mornings from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. Her mother’s shift arrives Wednesday nights, from 8 p.m. to midnight. Both are scheduled twice monthly as are most volunteers in the program.
Other tasks involve restocking supplies, folding freshly-washed baby clothes, and creating “milestone cards” for parents, marking achievements such as a baby’s first bottle feeding or medical procedures. Volunteers such as Provenzano and Engelhardt also create handprint and footprint art during the holiday seasons.
“Those things are really special to parents,” Engelhardt said. “It’s a traumatizing time, but it’s their first days with their baby.”
Provenzano said she treasures her time spent with the babies, who sometimes serve as the private audience of a concert of lullabies sung softly by the retired nurse.
The “cuddling” happens largely in six units tucked away in a fifth-floor hallway. There, the wall features a painted message — “Shhhhh” — that cautions against loud noises that could disturb NICU inhabitants.
Inside those units, volunteers such as Provenzano and Engelhardt spend much of their time in recliners, where they rock infants in hopes of providing comfort in the absence of parents. Often, that comfort can provide calmness to a crying baby.
“When there’s a cuddler there that can soothe a baby, the whole feel of the room changes,” Engelhardt said. “If you can just bring some peace and calm to the room, it changes the entire feeling.”
Volunteer opportunities
While the initiative presently maintains a waitlist, individuals interested in volunteering for the NICU “cuddlers” program can apply at covenanthealthcare.com/volunteer. The process involves interviews and background checks.
The hospital also provides additional volunteer opportunities. Today, about 250 people are involved in volunteer initiatives at Covenant HealthCare. The list of volunteer programs there is as follows:
- Wayfinders: Volunteers provide patients with guidance throughout the hospital, from the hospital entrances to their appointment destinations.
- Ronald McDonald Family Room: Volunteers support staff at this space for families of patients at the pediatrics and neonatal units.
- Mail delivery: Volunteers deliver mail within the hospital and assist staff with mail sorting.
- Information desks: Volunteers answer phones, look up patient room numbers, and direct people visiting the hospital.
- Surgical waiting: Volunteers provide a communication link between surgeons, operating room staff, and families.
- Center for the Heart: Volunteers greet guests, assist families in the waiting room, and provide some clerical duties.
- Covenant HealthCare Foundation: Volunteers answer phones, and provide clerical and computer work as well as support for fundraising events.
- Covenant at Home: Volunteers provide office support at the hospice and palliative care spaces at the hospital.
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