Born four years apart, first cousins Garrett Zug and Lindsey Moore spent the first several weeks of their lives in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Garrett weighed in at 4 pounds, 4 ounces, and Lindsey was just 2 pounds, 1 ounce. But with the expert care of the BWH NICU nurses and physicians, these fragile babies overcame obstacles and grew stronger.

In gratitude for the children’s health, the extended Zug family is supporting the hospital’s NICU renovation project. The existing space is being completely redesigned and expanded to create a more nurturing, quiet environment for the 3,600 premature and sick babies cared for by the NICU each year. The spacious setting will enable parents and families to be more fully involved in their infants’ care. The ability to customize each child’s environment will enhance babies’ brain development and improve their long-term health and quality of life.

Garrett and Lindsey’s parents David and Megan Zug and Libby and Jeffrey Moore, along with their parents Brooks and Linda Zug, and sibling Kate and her husband John Volkmar, have made a gift to create a new outdoor terrace that will provide a much-needed respite from the busy pace of the intensive care unit.

“We remember how helpful it was to have a few peaceful moments of fresh air in the NICU’s outdoor space during the four months Lindsey was there,” says Libby Moore.

“It is incredibly meaningful to us to establish a place for families to relax and reflect together while staying close at hand as their newborns grow stronger,” adds her brother, David Zug.

The chair of the Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine, Terrie Inder, MD, MBChB, appreciates the impact this gift will have on families’ well being. “Our patients stay on average much longer than any other patient in the entire hospital, so giving a family who may be spending a couple months coming in and out the capacity to have sunshine, fresh air, and bright light can lift those days that can sometimes be stressful,” she says. “We are extremely grateful to the extended Zug family for their generous gift, which will impact the everyday lives of our families and babies.”