PREMIEre Program (Preemie Development)
Our PREMIEre Program is a preemie development program for infants at risk of developmental delays due to prematurity, severe illness at birth or other environmental factors. Infants are evaluated for growth, neurological and developmental abnormalities in an intense follow-up program with testing, interventions and education.
Our preemie development program also offers extensive developmental assessments in growth, nutrition, mental and motor development as well as speech and behavior for children up to 3 years of age.
The clinic is staffed by a developmental psychologist, full-time nurse coordinator, nurse case manager and a medical director specialized in neonatology. Early intervention is planned as needed and each family is connected with appropriate services taking into account transportation and insurance.
Our developmental assessments also serve as a framework to teach parents about infant development and their role in guiding the growth of their baby. The program is open for referral of premature infants (infants that weigh less than 3.5 pounds) throughout San Antonio and South Texas.
Goals of Our PREMIEre Program
University Health's preemie development program has several goals including:
- To have a specialized program for all South Texas babies born prematurely and weighing less than 3.5 lbs at birth available through referral by their primary care physicians
- To have a parent education program that begins before the infant is discharged home from the nursery so that the family becomes more knowledgeable about their baby's developmental needs
- To provide developmental age-appropriate testing
- To conduct research and educational programs that will further the knowledge of premature infant development
