How to Comfort Your Baby

Hushabye Nursery’s AmeriCorps partnership gives future health workers hands-on experience caring for newborns with neonatal abstinence syndrome.

Fabulous Arizona named Hushabye Nursery its Nonprofit of the Month. The feature shows how founder Tara Sundem’s care model has helped more than 1,100 opioid-exposed newborns and their families since 2020. Sundem talks about breaking down stigma and the nursery’s 2026 goals. She also shares how the community can get involved before the Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Gala on Nov. 7.

For thirty years, neonatal nurse practitioner Tara Sundem watched newborns go through opioid withdrawal under bright lights, separated from their mothers, and for a long time she believed those mothers had brought it on themselves.

ABC15’s Uplifting Arizona marks Hushabye Nursery’s five-year anniversary. Since opening in 2020, the Phoenix nursery has cared for more than 1,100 substance-exposed babies in a calm, safe setting. It has also grown to offer parenting and recovery support for moms and dads.

AZFamily covers the new Mom and Baby Mobile Health Center from March of Dimes. The clinic brings prenatal care to underserved Phoenix communities, with or without insurance. ASU’s Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation and Wesley Community and Health Centers are partners, and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Arizona funds it. Every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the clinic parks at Hushabye Nursery on McDowell Road.

Hushabye Nursery in Phoenix offers one-on-one care for opioid-dependent newborns going through the painful process of drug withdrawals. It is one of the few recovery centers of its kind helping moms, and caretakers, too, who are actively trying to get clean.

We were honored to be featured on ABC 15 where our founder Tara Sundem shares how we put this mission into practice!

Hushabye Nursery partnered with The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation on a dollar-for-dollar $1 million match to support inpatient detox and recovery for infants experiencing Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). The campaign concluded on April 18, 2023, and raised over $2.2 million, including the $1 million match from The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation.

Video of Hushabye Nursery in Phoenix helping parents and babies exposed to drugs recover and get back on their feet. Jen Wahl has the details on 12News.com.