Dignity Health | St. Rose Dominican | Reach | Fall 2018

4 StRoseHospitals.org Our babies are precious blessings. Sadly, many newborns in the U.S. are born addicted to opioids. It’s a serious concern in southern Nevada, and St. Rose Dominican is dedicated to caring for these infants—and to helping pregnant women who are battling addiction. “Substance abuse does not discriminate. It affects women across all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.” —Andria Peterson, PharmD, clinical pharmacy specialist in pediatrics/ neonatology at St. Rose Dominican Empowering mothers, protecting babies Coming together to change lives in harm’s way from opioid addiction age are struggling with addiction to opioids and other drugs, says Andria Peterson, PharmD, clinical pharmacy specialist in pediatrics/ neonatology at St. Rose Dominican. When they give birth, their babies are born dependent on the substances their mothers used. These newborns experience withdrawal—what’s known as neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS. Symptoms include tremors, seizures, problems sleeping, irritability, and weight loss. Most babies are treated in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for days or even weeks before they can go home. “In the past four to five years, we’ve seen a big influx of babies in our NICUs who are being treated for withdrawal,” says Dr. Peterson, who works with Deepa Nagar, MD, a neonatologist affiliated with Mednax at St. Rose Dominican’s Siena Campus. The doctors conducted a study of St. Rose NICU babies who were experiencing withdrawal and Andria Peterson, PharmD Deepa Nagar, MD That’s where a unique St. Rose program comes in. It’s called EMPOWERED, and it’s on a mission: Ensure a kinder and healthier future for moms and babies in our community. Seeing a need for help and humankindness In southern Nevada, an increasing number of women of childbearing