Cooper University Hospital would like to congratulate Gretchen Lawhon, RN, PhD, Clinical Nurse Scientist at the Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper and Associate Professor of Pediatrics, UMDNJ/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Camden, for receiving the “Advancement in Clinical Applications” award by the March of Dimes New Jersey Chapter.
This award honors nurses throughout New Jersey who have demonstrated excellence in the practice of nursing; and contribute through research, community services, education, and advocacy to give all people a fighting chance against the threats to their health.
Dr. Lawhon is the Developmental Specialist in the Division of Neonatology at Cooper, and the Director of the Mid Atlantic NIDCAP (Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program) Center. A multidisciplinary approach to care, NIDCAP is supportive of each infant and their family. The program works in developing an individualized, developmentally appropriate method of support to maximize physical, mental, and emotional growth and health and to improve long-term outcomes for preterm and high medical risk newborns. Dr. Lawhon led the efforts of the Cooper Newborn Intensive Care Unit to achieve NIDCAP Nursery Certification in 2009, becoming the second nursery in the world to be certified by the NIDCAP Federation.
“Through the principles of NIDCAP, gretchen has helped our NICU to tailor the environment to meet the expectations of even the most premature infant. One of the key principals is now incorporating parents into the NICU team so that they feel confident and comfortable in assuming their care of their infants as they approach discharge from the NICU,” said Gary E. Stahl, MD, Head of the Division of Neonatology. “As a care giver, once you see the babies through NIDCAP eyes, you are changed forever. The doctors and nurses of Cooper’s NICU, as well as the infants and their families, have been fortunate to have benefited from Dr. Lawhon’s efforts.”
Dr. Lawhon has also published articles related to NIDCAP and has presented lectures both nationally and internationally. She has consulted and provided NIDCAP training to NICUs throughout the United States as well as in Israel, Japan, Singapore and China. She is Vice-President of the NIDCAP Federation International and a Master NIDCAP Trainer.