Salem - Some of North Shore Medical Center’s tiniest patients, including 5-month-old Elizabeth Hayes and her parents Kelly and Chris of Marblehead, were invited back to the hospital for the 16th annual Special Care Nursery Reunion to celebrate their miraculous births and recoveries. The family reunited with their doctors and Special Care Nursery staff, who cared for the Elizabeth when she was in the nursery. More than 150 young children enjoyed entertainment, contests and the company of other miracle babies.

“In the last 16 years, thousands of babies have been admitted to NSMC’s Special Care Nursery,” said Sue Nevins, RN, who coordinated the reunion. “Despite entering the world as early as 24 weeks, weighing as little as 2 pounds or facing other complex health problems, these babies have grown and thrived, and hospital staff were excited to see their young patients again.”

The Special Care Nursery is an intermediate level (also known as “Level II”) care nursery. Specially trained neonatal nurses and neonatologists care for premature babies, multiple births such as twins and triplets, and other babies with medical difficulties in the Special Care Nursery.

Babies are usually born at Salem Hospital’s Birthplace or in a high-risk, academic medical center in Boston, including the hospital’s two partners, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. These parents have their babies transferred to Salem so they can be closer to their North Shore homes.