A family recently held a reunion with staff at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast following their infant son’s 75-day stay in the facility’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). According to a statement from Ascension, the infant, Harrison, was born prematurely at 29 weeks after his mother, identified as Olivia D., experienced a medical emergency related to preeclampsia.
The hospital’s release details that after an initial stabilization at its Emerald Coast location, the mother was transferred to Studer Family Children’s Hospital in Pensacola for an emergency C-section. The infant, weighing a reported 2 pounds, 5 ounces, received three weeks of care in Pensacola before being transferred back to the NICU at Sacred Heart Emerald Coast, the only such unit in Okaloosa and Walton counties.
In the provided statement, the family credited the hospital’s staff with providing support during the infant’s stay, which spanned several holidays. “The nurses and clinicians were incredible; they didn’t just care for Harrison, they cared for our whole family,” Olivia was quoted as saying. Dr. Philip Tatum, a neonatologist at the facility, also said the hospital aims to support families and celebrate “each small milestone toward going home.” Ascension issued the release to coincide with National NICU Awareness Month.
