The Incubator

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna sit down with Dr. Rakesh Rao and Dr. Mary Revenis from the CHNC Endocrinology Focus Group to discuss their recent survey on managing hyperglycemia in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. They explore the wide variation in practices, from defining hyperglycemia to insulin use and glucose reduction strategies. With perspectives from both neonatologists and endoc...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna speak with Dr. Rebecca Martinez-Hannon and Dr. Vedanta Dariya from the CHNC Neonatal Transport Focus Group, exploring the variability in transport team structures and practices. They discuss team compositions, unique challenges in neonatal transport, and critical procedures performed en route. The conversation also highlights future goals, including consensus statem...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna are joined by Dr. Karna Murthy from Lurie Children’s Hospital to discuss CHNC’s innovative approach to risk adjustment for neonatal outcomes. Dr. Murthy shares insights into developing new tools for comparing NICU performance across hospitals, allowing centers to benchmark outcomes in rare conditions like diaphragmatic hernia and severe BPD. He also offers a look in...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna sit down with Dr. Maria Dizon, Dr. Girija Natarajan, and Dr. Rakesh Rao from the CHNC HIE Focus Group to discuss their research on hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). They share insights from their study on post-arrest HIE in newborns, including the outcomes of hypothermia treatment and key findings about patient characteristics. The team highlights ongoing initi...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna sit down with Dr. John Chuo and Dr. Abeer Azzuqa to discuss the CHNC Digital Health Focus Group and its impact on neonatal care. They share insights into using telemedicine across the NICU journey—from prenatal care to post-discharge monitoring—and explore the future of digital health. With advances in remote monitoring and clinical decision tools, Dr. Chuo and Dr....

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna reconnect with Dr. Ryan McAdams to discuss the potential of artificial intelligence in neonatal care. Dr. McAdams highlights key points from his CHNC talk, "Guiding the AI Revolution: A Safer Future for Newborns," covering AI's transformative role in handling complex neonatal data and advancing patient outcomes. From improving analytics to managing bi...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna speak with Dr. Michael Padula from CHOP about his research on central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) in the NICU. Dr. Padula presents findings from his talk, “Why Not a CLABSI?” where he examines the complex definitions and variations in CLABSI reporting across institutions. By investigating secondary bloodstream infections and potential alternative...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna sit down with Dr. Namrita Odackal and Dr. Lamia Soghier to discuss the transformative work of the CHNC Educational Advisory Committee. This team helps NICU professionals turn complex projects into impactful educational resources, covering topics from game-based learning to neonatal disaster preparedness. Dr. Odackal shares her unique contributions as a medical illus...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna engage with Dr. Namrita Odackal and Dr. Sharada Gowda to explore the CHNC Fetal Therapy Focus Group’s initiatives. They discuss ongoing projects, including data collection on fetal interventions and the creation of “just-in-time” modules for NICU teams encountering rare fetal cases. Dr. Odackal and Dr. Gowda share insights on bridging knowledge gaps for practitioner...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna speak with Dr. Liz Wetzel, Dr. Summer Elshenawy, and Dr. Hannah Hightower from the CHNC Resuscitation Focus Group. They discuss the importance of clinical event debriefing in the NICU, sharing insights on using standardized debriefing forms to enhance resuscitation outcomes and address psychological safety. This team emphasizes a systems-based approach to improvemen...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna are joined by members of the CHNC DEI Focus Group—Dr. Helen Williams, Dr. Nikki McLaughlin, Dr. Emily Fisherman, and Dr. Ann Downey—who discuss their commitment to creating an inclusive NICU environment. They explore the challenges and essential steps for integrating family-centered, culturally competent care in neonatal units. Listen as they share insights on impro...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna sit down with Dr. Whitney Thompson and Dr. Theresa Grover to discuss the CHNC Mentored Fellow Research Award, a unique program supporting neonatal fellows in mastering large data registries. Dr. Grover explains the comprehensive support—from data analysis to mentorship—that equips fellows for impactful research. Dr. Thompson shares her experience studying neonatal o...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna speak with Dr. Heather Tubbs Cooley about her research on nurse workload and its impact on neonatal care in the NICU. Dr. Tubbs Cooley highlights how nurse staffing ratios and subjective workload affect critical care tasks, from endotracheal tube surveillance to parent engagement and discharge teaching. This conversation sheds light on the nuanced realities of nurse...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna welcome back Dr. Srirupa Gopal, who returns to The Incubator podcast with exciting updates. Now an Assistant Professor of Neonatology at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, Dr. Gopal shares insights from her CHNC workshop on hemodynamic-based strategies in neonatal care and her perspective on evolving medication approaches. Additionally, Dr. Gopal intro...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna sit down with Monica Jones, Senior Family Consultant at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and NICU parent, to discuss the critical role of family voices in neonatal care. Monica shares insights from her work with CHNC, including a universal tool to address health disparities and support NICU families. She emphasizes the importance of personalized resource...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna speak with Dr. Mehul Raval, Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at Lurie Children’s Hospital, about his work on enhancing neonatal surgical recovery. Dr. Raval shares insights from his presentation on implementing enhanced recovery protocols, emphasizing a holistic approach to surgery—covering preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative phases. From minimizing o...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna speak with Dr. Rachel Rochelle Gomes and Dr. Alyssa Blumenfeld, who share their work in neurodevelopmental outcomes for NICU graduates. Dr. Rochelle Gomes discusses her passion for supporting families with special needs children, while Dr. Blumenfeld outlines her QI project to lower the age of autism diagnosis in NICU follow-up clinics. Together, they emphasize the...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna speak with Dr. Melissa House, Chavis Patterson, and Kathleen Stanton about creating a “psychologically-minded” NICU, where mental health support is essential for families, staff, and patients alike. They discuss the upcoming CHNC workshop, "Combating Distress, Dissatisfaction, and Discord," which introduces trauma-informed care, caregiver support, and the...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna are joined by Dr. Sarah Swenson, Lisa Boyars, and Elizabeth Fisher, who share insights on addressing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) in the NICU. They discuss their CHNC workshop, "Nuts and Bolts of Screening and Brief Intervention for PMADs," which guides NICUs in implementing effective screening and intervention programs. Learn about the ess...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna talk with Dr. Suzanne Withbourne and her son, Cameron Jobson, about their innovative project, NICUrounds.com, designed to streamline NICU guideline management. Together, they’ve created a customizable website that helps NICU teams track patient-specific interventions based on gestational age and other factors. They share insights on reducing guideline lapses, the pr...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna welcome back Dr. LeeAnn Pavlek, joined by Dr. Ulana Pogribna, to discuss the impactful work of the Small Baby Focus Group. From establishing dedicated small baby units to creating guidelines for extremely preterm infants, they share insights into developing a cohesive care team for these fragile patients. They explore essential components like family-centered care,...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ben and Daphna welcome the CHNC team—Anthony Piazza, Eugenia Pallotto, and Beverly Brozanski—to discuss quality improvement (QI) priorities in neonatal care. They delve into how QI initiatives at CHNC set project priorities and leverage data to support patient outcomes across diverse NICUs. From the challenges of Project Home, aimed at increasing breastfeeding at...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna welcome Dr. Briana Bertoni to discuss the CIQI Fellowship, a unique program for advancing quality improvement in neonatal care. Dr. Bertoni explains how the fellowship equips participants with hands-on experience in project development and implementation across diverse NICUs. From defining project metrics to learning the intricacies of nationwide QI initiatives, Dr....

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna chat with Dr. Monti Sharma from Children’s Nebraska, who shares his expertise on neonatal interventional bronchoscopy and the evolving role of pulmonology in the NICU. Dr. Sharma explains how advances in portable, flexible bronchoscopy equipment are allowing safer, bedside airway evaluations, potentially reducing the need for tracheostomies in certain infants with B...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna dive into neonatal point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) with Dr. Sharada Gowda and Dr. Karena Lawrence, leaders of the CHNC POCUS Focus Group. They discuss the rapid expansion of POCUS in neonatology, highlighting the collaborative efforts to build standards for data collection, quality assurance, and program development. From hemodynamic assessment to creating a founda...