Erika Goyer, BA
Each year the faculty of the Gravens Conference honors a member of our neonatal community for their contributions to the field. This year they gave two awards – one for 2021 because of the difficulty convening a conference during the pandemic, and one for 2022, as we came back together in Clearwater, Florida.
The recipients of the Stan and Mavis Graven Award for Leadership in Enhancing Physical and Developmental Environments for High-Risk Infants and their Families were Kristy Love and Michael Hynan, Ph.D. Both of whom are NICU parents and have long histories of leadership and advocacy with the National Perinatal Association.
Parents as Leaders
Love and Hynan spoke of the transformational experience of having a baby in the NICU and how those experiences propelled them to advocate for change. Each has a long list of accomplishments.
[READ REST OF ARTICLE BELOW REFERENCES SECTION]
Important Publications:
- Interdisciplinary Guidelines and Recommendations for NICU Discharge Preparation and Transition Planning. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-022-01313-9
- Covid-19 and the Need for Perinatal Mental Health Professionals: Now More Than Ever Before. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-020-0696-z
- The Neonatal Intensive Parenting Unit: An Introduction. https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2017.108
- The Transformation of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Father’s Perspective over 36Years. http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/j.nainr.2016.09.021
- Interdisciplinary Recommendations for the Psychosocial Support of NICU Parents. https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2015.141
Organizations You Should Know:
- National Perinatal Association (NPA) https://www.nationalperinatal.org/
- National Network of NICU Psychologists (NNNP) https://www.nationalperinatal.org/psychologists/
- NICU Parent Network (NPN) https://nicuparentnetwork.org/
- Wisconsin Association for Perinatal Care (WAPC) https://perinatalweb.org/page/history
Events:
- National Perinatal Association’s 42nd annual interdisciplinary conference, “Perinatology at the Intersection of Health Equity and Social Justice” May 2-4, 2022 in Aurora, Colorado https://www.npaconference.org/
- Save the date for the Gravens Conference on the environment of care for high-risk newborns, “The Future is NOW for Babies, Families and Systems” March 8-11, 2023, in Clearwater, Florida
Disclosure: The National Perinatal Association (https://www.nationalperinatal.org/) is a 501c3 organization that provides education and advocacy around issues affecting the health of mothers, babies, and families.