10 • 2025 • Developmental Observer The Division of Neonatology, at the University Clinic for Children and Adolescent Medicine in Salzburg has been striving since the 1970s to stay ahead of its time through inno- vative medical and nursing measures. From the very beginning, a core team started to work on implementing different basic strategies to support prematurely born babies and their families. NIDCAP Training Center in Development The development of the Amadea NIDCAP Training Center in Salzburg began back in 2000, when Dr. Erna Hattinger-Jür- genssen heard Professor Heidelise Als speak at a conference in Heidelberg. The NIDCAP approach presented by Dr. Als, was for Dr. Hattinger-Jürgenssen the missing piece required to optimize the care for all preterm and newborn babies on our ward. On reflection, it became clear that the concept of care that we considered standard care had not taken into account something important: the child as an individual personality with great development potential. In the meantime, the planning of a new parent-child cen- ter (EBZ) was gradually taking shape, so everything seemed to be coming together at the right time and place. However, it was a long journey from the idea to implementation. As it was a revolutionary concept, everyone involved had to support the model. The goal was to plan an environment characterized by architectural forms, surface materials, wall design as well as light and color choice to minimize stress, for the babies, fami- lies and staff. Developmentally supportive and family-centered care in this environment would promote well-being, familiarity and intimacy. However, our efforts remain an ongoing process where we question practices, adjust to scientific findings and monitor our outcomes. To promote this model, in 2010, Teresa Garzuly-Rieser RN and Johann Binter RN started their NIDCAP training with Dr. Nikk Conneman from The Sophia NIDCAP Training Center. This was after the Neonatology Department moved into a new, developmentally supportive environment (The EBZ), with eight two-bedded rooms and five family and child rooms. The ward was now situated on the same floor as the delivery room and the maternity ward and offered four additional rooms for parents to stay close to their infants. The Newborn Intensive Care Unit in Salzburg has 18 beds for preterm infants and newborns, 12 intensive care beds, and six intermediate care beds. On-going NIDCAP Training In 2013 and 2015, five colleagues, Silvia Wörndle RN, Barbara Perner RN, Verena Linecker RN, Dr. Erna Hattinger-Jürgens- sen and Dr. Silke Häusler started their NIDCAP training and the NIDCAP team grew. In 2013, Johann Binter RN and Teresa Garzuly-Rieser RN were certified as NIDCAP Professionals. A part-time position N I D C A P T R A I N I N G C E N T E R S W O R L D W I D E Amadea NIDCAP Training Center Salzburg, Austria Teresa Garzuly-Rieser, RN, NIDCAP Trainer, Amadea NIDCAP Training Center Salzburg DOI:10.14434/do.v18i3.42180 Parent-child center in Salzburg 2025 • Developmental Observer • 11 was dedicated to NIDCAP, so the NIDCAP implementation process started and was strongly supported through the amaz- ing team and leadership. Implementation is still an ongoing process; with every infant and their family we learn and grow what it means to implement individualized developmentally supportive pathways. The whole team continues to develop their knowledge and skills in infant family-centered developmental care (IFCDC) with programs such as FINE 1 and 2 (Family and Infant Neu- rodevelopmental Education) to improve the support for infants and their families. FINE 1 and 2 are going to be an obligatory part of the basic development and training program for staff in the unit. The aim is to reach out to all the wards in the clinic (SALK – Salzburger Landeskliniken) who care for newborns to be trained in this approach. It calls for a rethink and a reorienta- tion in the traditional practices and understanding of the profes- sion. The infant in the context of their family would now be the focus of professional action. The change from task-oriented to relationship-oriented care fundamentally changes the under- standing of the profession and requires support in implementa- tion. Outside of daily work, team-building processes helped us to get to know each other better, to think constructively about changes and to master tasks together. NIDCAP Trainers in Training In 2018, Teresa and Johann were able to embark on a new NIDCAP level; they started the NIDCAP Trainer-in-Training process. We had the honor to welcome Professor Heidelise Als (NIDCAP and APIB Senior Master Trainer) and Nikk Conneman, MD (NIDCAP and APIB Senior Trainer) as our teachers, mentors and inspirers. Dr. Conneman, as our trainer, always helped us to take a new perspective, to think more deeply about ourselves, and above all not to stand still and not to lose focus even in difficult times. Even the pandemic could not stop our aim to deepen our knowledge and understanding of the preterm infants’ behavior, to improve the wellbeing and the outcomes for the infants and families in our care. All the online training was challenging but brought us closer together in a different way and showed us new ways of communication against all spatial and physical distances. The whole NIDCAP path would not have been possible without the huge support of our head nurse and Training Cen- ter Director Mrs. Elke Gruber RN, Erna Hattinger-Jürgenssen MD and the hospital leadership. Mrs. Gruber is the main force behind the NIDCAP work with trust and support on-going. Supporting the Training Process Hosting an annual symposium – “The Salzburger Frühlingssym- posium“, which was launched through Elke Gruber, head nurse and Johann Binter RN, helped us to raise funds for further education and strengthen the awareness for developmental care in Austria and beyond our borders in Germany and Switzerland. There were 80 registrants in person with an additional 300 online. On March 20, 2025, World NIDCAP Day, we were able to host the “8th Salzburger Frühlingssymposium“ promoting developmentally supportive care. This was attended by a lot of interested people, both live and online. Monique Oude Reimer from Sophia NIDCAP & APIB Training Center greatly con- tributed to our program. The Amadea NIDCAP Training Center The Amadea NIDCAP Training Center is the first NIDCAP Training Center in Austria. It was certified in 2024, and will offer NIDCAP Professional education. Our team also offers FINE 1 and 2 courses all over Austria. We are looking forward to collaborating with other units and hospitals in the future and share our vision to support and empower families on one hand and strengthen the multidisciplinary teams on the other hand. NIDCAP has brought far reaching changes in how we think as a team and interact with premature and newborn ba- bies and their families, furthermore it has been a journey with ups and downs, growing and letting go. We gained new people and had to say goodbye to some but today we can be proud of ourselves. We no longer send babies home to their par ents, instead our families go home feeling strengthened as a family despite or because of their stay in Neonatology Salzburg. Our daily NIDCAP work on the ward is strongly support- ed through a multidisciplinary team, Gruber Elke RN, Silvia Wörndle RN, Barbara Perner RN, Verena Linecker RN, apl. Prof. Martin Wald, Dr. Edda Hofstätter, Dr. Franziska Dankl- Thieme, Dr. Silke Häusler, Dr. Erna Hattinger- Jürgenssen, also physiotherapists, speech therapists, lactation consultants, case and care managers, social workers and psychologists contrib- ute their valuable work. Thank you to all the work of each one of the Neonatology Salzburg Team. We now have parents who cuddle with their children, feel recognized and allowed to be competent and be families even though the start in life was different than expected. Amadea Team - from left Teresa Garzuly-Rieser RN, Dr. Edda Hofstätter, Elke Gruber RN, Dr. Erna Hattinger, Silvia Wörndle RN, apl. Prof. Martin Wald