Introduction

We are a group of collaborating Level IV NICUs focused on improving mental health screening and support for our caregivers. Level IV NICUs are typically housed within a freestanding Children’s hospital, and have the unique struggle of providing mental health support for adults within a Pediatric healthcare system. There has been increased awareness of the importance of identifying and supporting caregivers with mental health concerns through the ICU hospitalization, including new metrics by which NICUs are evaluated against on how well they provide this support.

Mission & Goals

​Our overarching mission is to improve mental health support for our families, thereby improving outcomes for our neonates. We are currently establishing best practices in mental health screening for caregivers in Level IV NICUs by utilizing the shared knowledge of institutions with well-established screening and support systems to assist centers in their program development. We are collaborating to improve access to mental health services for parents whose children are receiving care in Level IV NICUs. We want to increase national/institutional awareness of current gaps in care in order to emphasize the importance of acquiring funding for new positions. Our group members are multi-disciplinary, including neonatologists, nurses, social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists. We welcome fellow involvement as well as parental involvement.

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