Chanay’s Triplets Story

Though triplets are a rare occurrence, Asante’s NICU team must always be prepared to respond in such an event. This past September, their skills and preparations came in handy when they delivered the first set of triplets at Asante in at least a decade.

Grateful for skill and preparation

Parents Chanay and Jerry from Brookings, Oregon got married in 2015 and always looked forward to having a big family. Their two boys, Kalani, age 7 and Kash, age 5, were almost as excited as Chanay and Jerry were when they found out they were going to have triplets. Jerry remembers yelling out the car on the way home from the doctor’s office, “we’re having triplets, we’re having triplets!” – he could barely contain his joy. Of course, having triplets meant a lot more doctors’ visits but, thankfully, Chanay felt well taken care of with Asante’s Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic and she didn’t mind the drive from Brookings to Medford every two weeks. After the 25-week mark, Chanay and her family began visiting Asante once a week for appointments, and even rented short-term housing in Medford once Chanay’s due date got closer.

The NICU team also made preparations well in advance: sign-up sheets for nurses willing to be on-call the day and week of expected delivery; detailed resuscitation plans; a plan for how they were going to keep track of which baby was which; and, ultimately, how they would ensure three healthy babies were born successfully.

On the day of much anticipation, 23 total Asante employees came together to pull off this exciting delivery: three bedside nurses per baby, one charge nurse, one resource nurse, four respiratory therapists, one CNA, three Neonatologists plus one resident, a clinical support staff member, and Manager Shannan Widboom and Supervisor Beth Noyes.

“You could feel the excitement in the unit – everyone was giddy, happy and excited to have these babies born in the new space.”

— Shannan Widboom, Manager of Patient Care Services NICU

In the new Olsrud Family Women’s and Children’s Hospital at Asante’s Rogue Regional Medical Center, the NICU team has impressively adapted to providing Couplet Care – a completely new model of care that prioritizes keeping moms and babies together after delivery. After months of hard work implementing best practices and workflows, it was exhilarating for the nurses to successfully conduct such a complex and high-stakes delivery in their new unit.

“Everything went so smoothly with our delivery. Dr. Mills and the entire Asante team did an amazing job.” — Chanay

On September 19, 2024, three beautiful babies – Kruz, Koa and Story – were born at Rogue Regional Medical Center. In what they describe as “assembly-line like efficiency” and an “out-of-body experience,” the birth went as smooth as it possibly could have, and Chanay and Jerry were absolutely in awe of their NICU team. Because of the new unit’s design, their babies could all recover together in a private room, which meant frequent visits and being together as a family during their four-week stay was much easier.

Because of community support, the Olsrud Family Women’s and Children’s Hospital has been a life-changing addition for so many Asante patients and families. And, thanks to the amazing care teams inside its walls, thousands of local children and families can confidently rely on incredible medical care. This story is just one example of that fact, and of an experience that brought untold joy to one family and reminded the whole NICU team of the real importance of their everyday, life-saving work.