Thousands are expected to gather for the annual Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital NICU Reunion – a festive, family-friendly, end-of-summer gathering of patients past and present. The gathering will take place from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Aug. 17 at Zionsville Lions Park, 115 S. Elm St., Zionsville.
For this year’s reunion, patients and families from throughout the state and beyond will have the opportunity to reconnect with their favorite clinicians from Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at Ascension St. Vincent, the home of Indiana’s largest Level 4 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) – the highest level of care for newborn babies. All patients and families with connections to St. Vincent and the children’s hospital NICU are invited to attend.
The free, outdoor event will offer pony rides, bounce houses, carnival games, face painting, snacks and prizes.
The health system has also invited family members who lost an infant(s) to visit the Angel Tree, which was planted at Zionsville Lions Park, and to take a special memento in remembrance.
The first St. Vincent NICU reunion took place 21 years ago. A St. Vincent nurse organized the event out of her basement and, with her team, searched through phonebooks to identify and invite 500 NICU patients and their families. More than 20 years later, the tradition continues to grow stronger, regularly drawing thousands of Hoosiers from across the state to attend the annual end-of-summer celebration.