Baker Regional NICU at Crouse Health Participates in Beads of Courage Program

The Baker Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Crouse Health will be a participating hospital in the national Beads of Courage Program.

L-R: Juli Boeheim, Jean Gribbon and Susan Bertrand

The program is being sponsored at Crouse by two local non-profit organizations: Maureen’s Hope and the Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation. Beads of Courage works to transform the treatment experience for children and their families coping with chronic, life-threatening illnesses through arts-in-medicine programs. The program currently has over 300 member hospitals worldwide.

Parents of NICU infants will receive colorful beads to serve as unique and meaningful symbols of their baby’s time at Crouse and the milestones they reach while in the NICU.

“We believe there is a powerful connection between the arts and healing. Every bead given to a Crouse NICU family will tell a story of courage, honor and hope,” says Juli Boeheim. ”We are so grateful to Susan Bertrand and Maureen’s Hope Foundation for including us in bringing this program to Crouse Health.

“Beads of Courage will be another way to extend a layer of Carepassion to our patients and their families,” says NICU Nurse Manager Erin Coleman, RN.

Jean Gribbon, executive director of the national programs says, “In a NICU program like that at Crouse, the babies aren’t aware that they’re receiving beads. But for the families, this is a timestamp of all they endured while in the NICU. Our hope is that when an infant graduates from the NICU, the family can use the beads to show them what they went through.”

NICU staff ambassadors have been trained in facilitating the program, which will be rolled out on the unit soon.

For more information about Beads of Courage, visit beadsofcourage.org.