Impact Report

Video of Hushabye Nursery in Phoenix helping parents and babies exposed to drugs recover and get back on their feet. Jen Wahl has the details on 12News.com.

Most babies with NAS are treated in the neonatal intensive care unit. NICU teams do amazing work, and countless families owe their children’s lives to those dedicated nurses and doctors. But NICUs are not set up to treat babies with NAS. Hushabye Nursery in Phoenix is. NAS is what they treat. It’s all they treat. 24/7. It was founded by a neonatal nurse practitioner who has a unique understanding of NAS.

Hushabye Nursery is excited to announce a $100,000 grant from Thunderbirds Charities help us care for the tiniest victims of the opioid crisis – babies born withdrawing from opioids they were exposed to in the womb (NAS) – and their parents who are struggling with opioid use disorder.

Since they opened, Hushabye Nursery has helped about 600 families through inpatient and outpatient care, according to executive director Tara Sundem. They care for babies 24/7 through soothing techniques and try not to do nonpharmacological treatments, though they do have medicine for the babies that may need it.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is announcing the winners of its first-ever behavioral health Recovery Innovation Challenge. The goal of this challenge is to identify innovations developed by peer-run or community-based organizations that advance recovery.

In central Phoenix, Hushabye Nursery is home to babies born withdrawing from addictive substances they were exposed to in the womb. They spend their first days of life in dimly lit rooms equipped with cribs, changing tables and adult-size beds so their parents, many of whom are still in recovery, can stay with them. Framed prints on the walls read: Inhale. Exhale.