Small beginnings, healthy tomorrows
the Premiere program
Babies born at very low birth weight (less than 3 lbs., 5 oz.) are at major risk for death or a lifetime of health problems unless they receive intense care immediately and for months and years after birth.
Thanks to the support network developed by Health Science Center pediatrician Marilyn B. Escobedo, MD, and colleagues, however, thousands of young people born in Bexar County have overcome their tenuous entry into this world to lead healthy lives. Today, Dr. Escobedo heads the Premiere (‘Premie’) Program, formerly known as the High Risk Infant Program, and directs the neonatal intensive care unit at University Hospital. She is a professor of pediatrics at the Health Science Center and heads the division of neonatology.
The Premiere program screens more than 8,000 babies annually born at University Hospital or at other area hospitals. The screening usually finds more than 100 who need the program’s special follow-up care. The care can include treatment for eye problems, developmental delays, lung problems, hearing problems, motor development, speech development and social services and education for the family.
"This program is designed to be the link between the hospital, the patient and the future," Dr. Escobedo said. "Although University Hospital and the Health Science Center physicians and staff have provided follow-up care to premature infants for more than 20 years, this program is casting a wider net to include the entire community."
And the net is catching and preventing a lot of problems. Dr. Escobedo and colleagues estimate that about 80 percent of the babies enrolled in the program are functioning well by age 3.
