Bridging the NICU to Home: Part 2 - Caring for NICU Graduates in the Primary Care Setting

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This education is about:

Evidence-based primary care for NICU graduates
Nutrient enrichment for preterm infants after NICU discharge
Structured assessment of the home feeding plan and recognizing early signs of feeding inefficiency
Developmental risk across the gestational age spectrum and neurodevelopmental assessment for former preterm infants
The value of prompt referral to early intervention services
Listening to and partnering with caregivers of preterm infants
Case-based discussions of former preterm infants post–NICU discharge

Why it matters:

Most preterm infants go home before 40 weeks' corrected age with incomplete catch-up growth and elevated risk for developmental delay. Pediatricians who monitor growth trajectory on corrected-age curves, sustain nutrient enrichment, and screen early can change a child's developmental path.

What you will learn:

Dr. Jill Kasper opens with a presentation of evidence-based primary care for former preterm infants, including recommended timelines, growth monitoring, optimizing nutrition for catch-up growth, and enhanced neurodevelopmental screening. Dr. Kasper is then joined by neonatologist Dr. Vincent Smith, who leads a multidisciplinary case-based panel that includes Dr. Kasper, NICU nurse and discharge coordinator Heidi Gates, feeding specialist Cuyler Romeo, and NICU parent advocate Molly Fraust-Wylie. In this interactive discussion, the panel follows 2 infants after discharge: a medically complex infant who returns with slowing growth; and a seemingly healthy former 32-weeker whose caregivers are reassured at visit after visit despite signs of feeding fatigue and growth faltering. Learners see how experts would react by watching the trajectory, acting early, and trusting what parents are telling them.

Target Audience:

Developed to support neonatologists, pediatricians, primary care physicians, general practitioners, neonatal and pediatric nurses, and other healthcare providers who treat infants and children.

Course Credit:

1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM
1.50 ANCC Contact hour(s)
1.50 CDR Contact hour(s)

Dates:

Opens: 2026-09-24
Closes: 2028-09-25

This activity is supported by an educational grant from Mead Johnson Nutrition.

Complete Continuing Education Details

Faculty

Molly Fraust-Wylie, MA

Molly Fraust-Wylie, MA is the NICU Family Program Manager at the Klarmarn Family NICU at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. After her own NICU experience with her first son, Max, Molly left her career in Marketing to become a parent advocate and educator on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Molly offers a unique parent voice on multidisciplinary teams with the aim of improving the overall experience for families with infants in the hospital. From developing materials and running educational programming on the unit to bedside support and community organizing with NICU graduate families, Molly’s focus is on involving and empowering parents in all aspects of the NICU experience. Molly holds an MA from Emerson College in Integrated Marketing Communication and is a graduate of Dickinson College. Molly sits on the Board of Directors for Project Sweet Peas, a national nonprofit that supports families of premature or sick infants and those who have been affected by pregnancy and infant loss.

Molly Fraust-Wylie, MA

PNQIN Patient & Family Engagement
NICU Family Program Manager
Klarman Family NICU
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Lynnfield, Massachusetts
Heidi Gates, RN

Heidi Gates is a CN IV (Clinical Nurse IV) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where she is involved in advanced nursing practices and patient care. Her professional background includes various roles in healthcare, emphasizing her expertise in clinical settings.

Heidi Gates, RN

CN IV
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Lynnfield, Massachusetts
Jill Kasper, MD

Jill Kasper, MD, is a pediatrician and assistant professor of pediatrics at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and a primary care pediatrician at Boston Medical Center, where she serves as the medical director for the SOFAR clinic (Supporting Our Families through Addiction and Recovery) as well as interim division chief of primary care. Dr. Kasper graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and completed her pediatrics training at Connecticut Children's Medical Center. Her clinical interests include primary care pediatrics, as well as healthcare for teen parents and their children. She also has a strong interest in the medical education of student and resident learners.

Jill Kasper, MD

Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Interim Division Chief, Primary Care Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts
Cuyler Romeo, MOT, OTR/L, SCFES, IBCLC

Occupational Therapist and Pediatric Feeding Specialist Cuyler Romeo’s extensive leadership and clinical experience are instrumental in the execution and management of Feeding Matters’ strategic initiatives. In partnership with the CEO, Jaclyn Pederson, Cuyler collaborates with constituents to identify, track, and assess innovative approaches to the PFD system of care. Cuyler also facilitates strategic partnerships with select professional associations including the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Prior to joining Feeding Matters, Cuyler served as a founding partner of Mealtime Connections, LLC, and gained valuable insight on funding trends and industry implications as the director of clinical innovations at Therapy 2000. She is currently a treating clinician in Banner-University Medical Center’s NICU and works to advance the feeding skill domain by facilitating AOTA’s mealtime Occupations: Feeding, Eating, and Swallowing Community of Practice.

Cuyler Romeo, MOT, OTR/L, SCFES, IBCLC

Director of Strategic Initiatives, Feeding Matters
Occupational Therapists and Feeding Specialist
Banner University Medical Center Tucson - NICU
Tucson, Arizona
Vincent Smith, MD, MPH

Dr. Vincent C. Smith, MD, MPH is Division Chief of Newborn Medicine at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Professor of Pediatrics at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. Dr. Smith is a graduate of Texas A&M University, Stanford University School of Medicine, and the Harvard School of Public Health. He trained in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center in the Boston Combined Pediatric Residency Program. He then completed a fellowship in neonatal-perinatal medicine through the Harvard wide program, a collaboration of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Boston Children’s Hospital. He also completed a fellowship in health services research at Children’s Hospital. Dr. Smith serves as the medical director for the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Program. He is an active member of the Massachusetts Medical Society and Society for Pediatric Research. He is also a former member of the National Perinatal Association Board of Directors. In addition to parental NICU discharge readiness, his professional interests also include families affected by substance use and medical care for LGBTQIA+-headed families.

Vincent Smith, MD, MPH

Division Chief of Newborn Medicine
Boston Medical Center
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Boston, Massachusetts

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Learning Objectives

Evaluate common postdischarge challenges faced by pediatric practices, such as missed follow-ups, feeding and growth challenges, and developmental concerns and propose proactive solutions.
Utilize recommended tools, alongside an individualized, family-centered approach to enhance continuity of care and reduce the risk of hospital readmissions or adverse outcomes following NICU discharge.
Collaborate across interprofessional roles to implement evidence-based postdischarge care and surveillance strategies for medically complex NICU graduates, identifying system-level challenges and coordinating comprehensive follow-up plans to reduce gaps in care, support families, and promote optimal neurodevelopmental outcomes.