Meet Your Team

Seattle Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

 

Our NICU care team has special training working with critically ill newborns and their families. We will work with you to make decisions and treatment plans for your baby.

The care team in Seattle Children’s NICU includes:

• Neonatologists (doctors specializing in newborn care)
• Neonatal nurse practitioners and physician assistants
• Nurses
• Respiratory therapists
• Pharmacists
• Dietitians
• Physical and occupational therapists
• Social workers
• Lactation Services

The NICU team works closely with Seattle Children's pediatric surgeons, cardiac intensivists, cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, neurosurgeons, otolaryngologists, neurologists, pulmonologists, nephrologists, geneticists and other specialists to provide coordinated care for newborns with complex problems. Learn more about the different roles on your child's healthcare team.

Leaders in improving patient care and outcomes

Our faculty hold national leadership and research roles that strengthen our patient care and outcomes.

• Drs. Sandra Juul and Dennis Mayock work with the PENUT trial. Read more about how this work is improving brain development in premature babies.
• Learn more about research and advances.

NICU leadership team

• Robert DiGeronimo, MD, medical director
• Zeenia Billimoria, MD, associate medical director
• Elizabeth Jacobson, MD, director, quality improvement
• Bonnie Fryzlewicz, MN, RN, NE-BC, ICU division leader
• Catherine Wagner, RN, BSN, NICU clinical practice manager
• Erin Peters, NICU clinical practice manager
• Margaret Keith, ARNP, supervisor, neonatal nurse practitioners
• Karen Kelly, MN, RN, clinical nurse specialist
• Lynn Lingen, BSN, RN, RNC-NIC, NICU educator
• Maura Sandrock, MS, RD, NICU dietitian

Neonatologists in Seattle Children’s NICU

• Maneesh Batra, MD, MPH  
• Zeenia Billimoria, MD
• Pattaraporn Chun, MD
• Toby Cohen, MD
• Robert DiGeronimo, MD
• Megan Gray, MD
• Melinda Hendrickson, MD
• Craig Jackson, MD, MHA  
• Elizabeth Jacobson, MD  
• Sandra (Sunny) Juul, MD, PhD  
• Taylor Sawyer, DO, MEd  
• Kendra Smith, MD  
• Linda Wallen, MD  

Our Neonatologists at Affiliate Hospitals’ NICUs

We provide care for sick newborns in the NICUs at the University of Washington, Providence Regional Medical Center, CHI Franciscan Health, Highline Medical Center and UW Medicine Valley Medical Center. These include:

• Shilpi Chabra, MD
• Meenakshi Dutta, MD
• Cyril Engmann, MD
• Elizabeth Flanigan, MD
• Sarah Handley, MD  
• Anna Hedstrom, MD
• Isabella Knox, MD
• Janessa Law, MD
• Christina Long, MD
• Davia Loren, MD 
• Dennis Mayock, MD  
• Michael Neufeld, MD, MPH
• Pratik Parikh, MB BS
• Krystle Perez, MD  
• Mihai Puia-Dumitrescu, MD, MPH
• Thomas Strandjord, MD  
• Christopher Traudt, MD
• Rachel Umoren, MB ChB, MS 
• Stephen Welty, MD
• Elliott Weiss, MD

Seattle Children's neonatologists and neonatal nurse practitioners and physician assistants also care for patients at CHI Franciscan Health, Providence Regional Medical Center and UW Medicine Northwest Hospital and Medical Center. The leaders and their medical director partners of that program are:

• Providence Regional Medical Center Everett: Vanessa Rothstein, PA-C, Michael Neufeld, MD, MPH, and Anna Hedstrom, MD
• UW Medicine Northwest Hospital and Medical Center: Maya Kaneyasu, ARNP, Toby L. Cohen and Thomas Strandjord, MD
• Seattle Children's Hospital: Margaret (Meg) Keith, ARNP, Robert DiGeronimo, MD, and Zeenia Billimoria, MD
• CHI Franciscan Health: Kimberly Gustafson, ARNP, Stephen Welty, MD and Elizabeth Flanigan, MD, MPH
• UW Medicine Valley Medical Center: Carol Otto, ARNP, Christina Marieke Long, DO, and Christopher M. Traudt, MD

Neonatal Transport Program

 

Our Neonatal Transport Program partners with Airlift Northwest to provide the specialized care needed to safely transport critically ill infants by ground or air. We transport more than 400 newborn patients each year. A NICU nurse and a respiratory therapist always ride along with the newborn on critical care transports. This team is in frequent contact with a neonatologist throughout the transport process to ensure the highest quality of patient care. The leaders of the Neonatal Transport Program are:

• Kendra Smith, MD  
• Catherine Wagner, RN, BSN

Learn more about your baby’s trip to the NICU (video 5:10)

Neonatal Outreach

The Neonatal Outreach Program provides education and consultation for community healthcare professionals to increase awareness of our neonatal services and ensure that babies get their best possible start in life.