Pediatric Interim Care Center The Newborn Nursery

Mission

Pediatric Interim Care Center's mission is to provide safe, transitional medical care to bridge the gap between hospitalization and home care for prenatally drug-exposed and medically fragile infants, to provide educational services to the community, and to always be a voice for the child.

Description

Pediatric Interim Care Center (PICC) is the nation's first nonprofit nursery providing medically safe interim care for newborns recovering from prenatal drug exposures. Located in Kent, Washington, PICC was founded in 1990 with the backing of the Washington State Legislature to provide a safe haven for the large number of fragile babies born prematurely as a result of prenatal exposure to cocaine. These tiny neonates, sometimes weighing only a pound or two, flooded hospital nurseries in the 1980's. Too often, they were placed in foster homes that weren't able to provide the level of 24-hour medical monitoring and care these little ones needed. Although the trending drugs have changed over the years, the need for an interim care nursery for drug-exposed newborns has remained constant. Today as our communities confront a crises of opioid and methamphetamine addiction, PICC continues to provide specialized care for newborns recovering from prenatal drug exposures in a homelike, low-stimulus nursery. The organization completed a new facility in 2006 and continues to be led by its founder and Executive Director Barbara Drennen. Over its years of operation, PICC has given thousands of drug-exposed newborns a safe and healthy start in life and saved millions of dollars in heath care costs each year by providing a cost-effective alternative to hospital care. PICC's has received national recognition and is frequently called upon for information to replicate its pioneering model program.