Hillcrest Medical Launches New NICU Program Called 'TeamBirth'

There are several unique shows you can see at the Tulsa State Fair.

One is the Aussie Kingdom, where Australian animals are showcased.

More than 50 animals are in the Aussie Kingdom including kangaroos, wallabies and lots of birds, all Australian species.

Aussie Kingdom Owner Carolyn Lantz says she's been raising kangaroos for about 15 years.

She travels around North America to teach people about Australia and the animals there.

The exhibit has 13 different kinds of birds, six kangaroos and wallabies, and four species of reptiles like a Python and a Blue-tongued skink.

Lantz says the animals are born and bred in the U.S., but the only place you'll see them in the wild is in Australia.

She says the shows are educational and hopes people who come will leave with a greater respect for the animals, and a desire to help conserve the species.

It's a popular exhibit so lots of people stop by, including Lillyian Martin and Laila Basse.

"It's surprising to see kangaroos from Australia in Oklahoma” Martin said.

"You don't really see them a lot unless you're going places with them. So them being here, it's like wow,” Basse said.

"We tell you some really unique things about the different reptiles that we bring out, the kookaburra and just unique things that the kangaroos do that no other species of animal in the world does,” Lantz said.

You can check out the animals for free anytime during fair hours and the shows happen each day at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Hillcrest Medical Center started a new program on Monday that they said is the first of its kind in the country and includes parents in the day-to-day treatment decisions when it comes to premature babies.

“Specifically the family care side really directs our moms and our parents to what they are able to do as a part of this healthcare team," Grace Switzer said.

Switzer is Hillcrest's NICU manager and said TeamBirth is a new program in their department, but her team is very families with it after seeing how successful it's worked in other expecting mothers.

“In labor and delivery and postpartum, the patient who is the center of the team is the mother. Here in the NICU the baby obviously is a part of the team but is not an active participant. So what NICU care really does is it extends the team to be inclusive of the family," Amber Weiseth said.

Weiseth is the National Director of the program and said the TeamBirth concept originally started in four hospitals across the country.

She said Hillcrest is the first to bring it to the NICU department with the hopes of helping families and doctors communicate better.

“If you look at mistakes that happen in healthcare or adverse events, 80 to 90% of them have a root cause in how the team functions together or in teamwork so we’re really trying to operationalize the best practices," Weiseth said.

She said parents with a baby in the NICU often feel like they have no control over what's happening and they hope this changes that.

“Comfort doing skin to skin with mom. Mom being able to pump at the bedside. Knowing where our hands-on care time is and when we’re going to be meeting next. That kind of pulls them in," Switzer said.