TYLER, Texas — On Sunday, Christus Trinity Mother Frances NICU recognized 15 years of serving the East Texas community. To celebrate, families, former patients and NICU staff came together for a "Candyland" themed reunion.
The NICU unit opened in 2008, and the staff asked previous families and patients to come meet their nurses with an afternoon of fun and games. The theme was NICU-Land, which is a play off the game "Candyland." They had carnival games, bounce houses, balloon animals and more – all for the kids to come and enjoy while getting to meet up with their former nurses.
Medical Director Dr. Tiffany Taylor said that this type of celebration feels very rewarding.
"Today we are celebrating 15 years of having a NICU at Christus Mother Frances, and we decided to have a big celebration," Taylor said. "Almost 7,000 people have made it through our NICU. We love seeing our families and we love seeing how they're doing, how they're growing up. It's just amazing."
Taylor also said they hope to host a few more small celebrations every five years and another big one to celebrate the NICU's 30th anniversary.