POCATELLO — Elizabeth O'Donnell, M.D., was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Idaho State Journal's Women of Influence Awards on Dec. 7. The prestigious award recognizes Dr. O'Donnell's service as the medical director of Portneuf Medical Center's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and years of commitment to growth and innovation.

"This Lifetime Achievement Award validates my belief that consistent, honest hard work pays priceless dividends," Dr. O'Donnell said "I was humbled when I was announced the award recipient."

During her tenure at PMC, Dr. O'Donnell has bolstered the NICU program with growth and innovation. The developments to the program include increasing the acuity of care for 23-week gestational neonates; pioneering a multidisciplinary and inclusive NICU service line where the efforts and input of every member of the team are celebrated; creating care conferences for highrisk obstetrics patients, their partner and the care team to prepare for NICU hospitalization; and implementing a quality improvement project with respiratory therapy and nursing to reduce pneumothorax in neonates.

From 2014 to 2021, PMC's NICU census has grown. Previously, neonates under 25 weeks needed to be transported to another facility for care. Dr. O'Donnell's improvements to the program have expanded the capabilities of the NICU to deliver a higher level of care at PMC, keeping families locally and sparing them the added strain of traveling to another city or state for treatment. Now both mom and baby can remain together and baby can receive rapid care. Each program improvement is guided by patient safety in pursuit of better outcomes.