The Infamedics Care Team Shares Why They’re Passionate About Babies
Infamedics is a team of neonatal healthcare providers who love babies. Everything we do, we do for the betterment of infants, from daily contact with parents to treating each child as if they were our own. We strive to deliver the highest quality care for the newest members of families across the Greater Baton Rouge area.
Infamedics was established in 1993 and has grown into a team of over 25 neonatologists (all certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine & General Pediatrics), neonatal nurse practitioners, and neonatal physician assistants.
As we’ve grown, our team has extended our position to provide neonatal intensive and well-baby care at all birthing hospitals in the Baton Rouge region including the NICU & Mother/Baby unit at Woman’s Hospital, the NICU at Ochsner Medical Center Baton Rouge, the NICU and Mother/Baby unit at Baton Rouge General – Bluebonnet, and the Level II NICU at Lane Regional Medical Center.
Everyone on our team is committed to creating a healthier future for children throughout the Baton Rouge area. We are devoted to infant care and have the specialized training and experience necessary to give each child the medical attention and treatments they need.
Our team members are passionate about the care they provide and have strong convictions for why they’ve chosen their career paths.
So why were we drawn to neonatology? Let us count the ways.
- We just love babies.
This is a given in the neonatology field, but parents should know that every member of our care team loves babies. Babies themselves are the primary reason most of us went into neonatology.
“I became a neonatologist because I really love taking care of babies.” – Danielle Thompson
“I love taking care of babies… I enjoy helping premature babies grow, get better, and go home with their parents.” – Donald Meyn
“When I went into the nursery, that seemed to be the best fit. I just love taking care of the babies.” – Cynthia Voelker
“Since I was little, I always wanted to work with babies.” – LaVonna Parham
- Babies are the most helpless patients.
Babies are so unique. When they’re born, they have a complete lack of control of everything that’s happening to them in the world. We’re drawn to babies because we want to help them during this period of helplessness to treat whatever ailments they are experiencing and try to get them to a point where they are healthy enough to go home and grow.
“I became a neonatologist because I felt like babies were the most helpless patients that we as pediatricians can help. They come out really with things that happen to them, essentially, and we have to try to help them through it so they can be healthy and go home.” – Komalpreet Brar, MD, FAAP
“Babies are unique. I’ve always said for many years it’s the last perfect thing on the face of the Earth.” – Steven Spedale, MD, FAAP
“I just ended up enjoying being able to help babies from the very early steps when they’re most innocent and getting to see them grow.” – Jason Puente, APRN, NNP
- We also love helping families during fragile times.
Most people assume when we’re working in the NICU that our sole focus is on the babies. While infant care is a huge part of our lives in the NICU, we also form connections and interact with each baby’s family. We understand that having a child in the NICU can be difficult, and we want to make sure parents are informed and involved in their baby’s care. We encourage parents to ask questions and take part in their baby’s NICU journey as much as possible to learn about what their baby is going through and how to care for them.
“I think I went into neonatology specifically after having my son a year ago and just seeing how amazing but fragile that time period is in a baby’s life. I love being in neonatology because I get to not only help babies during that time period but walk alongside families, being a support system.” – Claire Roethele, PA-C
“I also like the fact that you could teach. While you were learning and providing care, you could offer parents information that would help them better take care of their baby and children and understand what their babies were going through.” – Cathy Marcus, APRN NNP
- A few of us were drawn to neonatology from our own experiences with the NICU.
Many people don’t think about the NICU unless they’ve personally experienced it or know someone whose child has. A few members of our care team were inspired to pursue a career in neonatology after watching family members go through a NICU journey.
“The reason I became a neonatologist was when I was a sophomore in high school one of my cousins was born with a congenital anomaly, and at that time I decided that I wanted to take care of sick kids when I grew up. And that’s what I do. ” – Kimberly Stewart, MD, FAAP
- Neonatology requires a broad understanding of medicine.
Neonatology is a specialized field, but neonatologists are required to have a much broader understanding of medicine to effectively care for their patients. From cardiovascular to neurological issues, neonatologists have to be able to assess any needs of their babies in the NICU. The ability to develop an understanding of and practicing a variety of medicines is another reason a few of us were drawn to neonatology.
“It’s not just being a doctor for a baby. You also have to know how to handle things from a cardiovascular standpoint, from a kidney standpoint, a GI standpoint, a neurological standpoint, and to understand how all those factors go in in this premature child. To me, that was fascinating.” – Kip Smith, MD, FAAP
Want to learn more about the Infamedics team? Explore our Care Team page to meet each of our neonatologists, neonatal nurse practitioners, and neonatal physician assistants.