May 13, 2025

On Saturday, May 3, families and graduates from the Good Samaritan Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit gathered to spend a day of family fun at the Cincinnati Zoo. Families and caregivers met and reconnected over a picnic lunch and wild animal encounters!

The NICU Reunion Picnic, a returning favorite event hosted by Good Samaritan Foundation and sponsored by the Ruth Lyons Children’s Fund, had a roaring 700 individuals registered for the day of fun, which included 200 NICU graduates!

More than just a fun-filled day, the NICU Reunion Picnic creates meaningful impacts on our NICU families. One parent from the event mentioned, “Today, Good Samaritan Hospital put on an event at the Zoo for all the NICU graduates. This included free tickets, free parking, complimentary food and drinks, and these cute hippos with babies' names on them. On top of that, they thanked us for coming, especially out in the rain. In reality, these nurses and doctors are the ones we should be thanking. They saved my children numerous times during their tough battle being born so early. They comforted my husband and me through the toughest times of our lives. They taught us how to be strong and interact with our babies, even if we were terrified of all the devices and wires attached to them. We knew every day when we had to leave our babies at the hospital, they were going to be well taken care of. Because of them, we were able to get through it. Of course, we weren’t going to miss this event….it’s the least we could do. We can’t thank THEM enough.”

Good Samaritan Foundation gives special thanks to the Ruth Lyons Children’s Fund, an invested partner of the Foundation with a longstanding history with the Good Sam NICU, and all team members who attended and took time to invest in these families.

View a recap video of the event here! Pictures from the event can be found at Good Samaritan Foundation’s Flickr page here.

Good Samaritan Foundation secures philanthropic support for programs and projects that promote exceptional healthcare, preventative initiatives, education, research, and community outreach activities provided by Good Samaritan Hospital and its related entities. For more info, visit gshfoundation.com