Babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital, part of Jefferson Health, rang in their first holiday season with a visit from Santa.

The region’s tiniest babies and their siblings posed for photos with Old Saint Nick on Dec. 17. Colleagues and parents got in on the fun, too, dressing as elves and donning holiday sweaters. Families enjoyed pizza and activities while listening to holiday tunes.

“I love planning events like this for our families because during the holidays especially, no one wants to have a child in the hospital,” said Rebecca Salter, NICU Nurse Navigator, adding, “This is just a small way of trying to bring a little bit of normalcy to their lives and include the rest of their family.”

The Level IV NICU at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital at Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest, Salisbury Township, provides the highest level of intensive care and is the only one of its kind in the area.

Babies at NICUs at other Jefferson Health hospitals, including Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Jefferson Einstein Memorial Hospital, will also be dressing up for the holidays.