"We Felt Like We Won": Kangaroo-a-thon Brings NICUs Together Across Canada
- CPBF
- Jun 24
- 2 min read
When the winners of CPBF's first-ever national Kangaroo-a-thon were announced on June 10, not every participating NICU took home a prize.
But for many teams, that wasn't the point.
One participating NICU shared that although they didn't win, they felt like they had. During the month-long challenge, their team more than doubled the number of Kangaroo Care hours they achieved the previous year, despite having many new and early-career staff members.
That sentiment reflects what made the inaugural Kangaroo-a-thon such a success.
Throughout May, 49 Level 2 and Level 3 NICUs from coast to coast came together to celebrate Kangaroo Care and the important role families play in their baby's care. What began as a national awareness initiative quickly became an opportunity for teams to strengthen family-integrated care, engage staff, and encourage more opportunities for skin-to-skin contact.
Throughout the challenge, NICUs tracked 12,500 Kangaroo Care minutes, celebrated milestones, and shared stories of connection and teamwork.
While two hospitals were ultimately named winners, the true success of the Kangaroo-a-thon was the collective impact created by participating units across Canada. Whether teams increased their Kangaroo Care hours, introduced new staff to the practice, strengthened family engagement, or simply started new conversations about parent presence in the NICU, every participating hospital helped advance family-integrated care.
CPBF extends its sincere thanks to all 49 participating NICUs, the families who took part, and our generous sponsors and supporters who helped make this national initiative possible.
The results may be in, but the impact of Kangaroo Care continues every day at NICU bedsides across the country.
A special congratulations to our winners:
Level 2 Champion: Windsor Regional Hospital (Windsor, ON)
Level 3 Champion: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (Toronto, ON)
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