Carle every week at the Kaisier Permanente Capitol Hill campus. I hope that my own experience allows me to relate more on a personal level and provide the type of care that these stressed parents need during this brief but monumental moment in their lives.”Įliza and Jade were discharged from the NICU 6 weeks after arriving and continued to see Dr. I try to remember that feeling of fear and anxiety when dealing with the parents of my patients. “However, my experience as a parent was completely overwhelming and terrifying, despite being familiar with the environment. “Because I was regularly in the NICU as a doctor, I thought I would be mentally prepared when my baby needed to go there,” says Dr. She’s acutely aware of how difficult the situation can be for parents. Carle’s passion and empathy come from firsthand experience, as one of her own children arrived prematurely and spent some time in the NICU.

Weeks later, fellow parents were still asking us who our doctor was.”ĭr. Carle had techniques even the nurses hadn’t seen. Other parents warned us how difficult it would be, but Dr. As a new parent, it can be hard to watch tests and procedures on your newborn. “She had a unique and highly personal bedside manner. This coordinated care not only provides convenience and continuity, but it also reduces delays and frustration that may be caused by coordinating with external doctors. Now, for our youngest patients like Eliza and Jade, specialty care comes directly to newborns in the local NICU. And for this kind of incisional surgery, there are only 2 places to go on the West Coast, the closest one being Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. Michelle Carle, MD, is an ophthalmological surgeon with our Washington Permanente Medical Group.īefore Michelle Carle, MD, joined the Washington Permanente Medical Group, Kaiser Permanente Washington’s standard of care was to send these tiny patients to a specialist in our contracted network. However, there are rare instances where surgery is necessary. This procedure is usually done with lasers and injections. Any abnormalities are treated surgically to avoid any complications. After their birth, the babies were monitored for several months to make sure they developed properly. When Hillary delivered Eliza and Jade at 30 weeks, the care team rushed the newborns straight to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and assessed them to be at high risk for blindness. Only, their yet-to-be-born daughters were a rare kind of twin and the chances of having healthy babies were slim. The couple soon learned that they were, indeed, having twins.

“We joked at the first ultrasound: ‘Are you sure there’s not twins in there?’” Hillary recalls. Hillary and her husband were thrilled when they found out they were pregnant. New specialty care at Kaiser Permanente Washington helps babies at risk for blindness

Focused eye care