About the Program
The Neuroprotective Care Program™ is an evidence-informed educational framework designed to connect what is known about the developing brain with how care is delivered across the neonatal journey. It brings together established neonatal evidence, developmental-care principles, family-centered practices, and practical bedside strategies within one organized approach to neuroprotective care.
Why the Program Was Developed
The Neuroprotective Care Program™ was developed to help bridge the gap between what is known about the developing brain and how that knowledge is consistently translated into everyday neonatal care. While neuroprotective principles are supported across many areas of neonatal practice, they are often taught and implemented separately. The program brings these principles together into one practical, evidence-informed framework designed to support intentional, consistent, and developmentally responsive care across the NICU journey.
About Paula Barbas
Paula Barbas, BSN, RN, RNC-NIC, DCSD, has spent more than three decades caring for infants and families in a Level III neonatal intensive care unit. Her clinical experience includes developmental care, neonatal transport, resuscitation and stabilization, staff education, quality improvement, and the care of extremely premature and critically ill infants.
Paula’s commitment to neuroprotective care is rooted in decades of developmental-care practice. She completed NIDCAP training in 1994 and has continued to integrate observation of infant behavior, physiologic stability, individualized care, family partnership, and protection of the developing brain into her bedside practice and clinical teaching.
Throughout her NICU career, Paula has contributed to staff education, neonatal resuscitation and stabilization, transport, developmental care, and quality-improvement initiatives. She has served as a Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) instructor since 1998 and a S.T.A.B.L.E. Program instructor since 2002. Her experience also includes participation in Vermont Oxford Network quality-improvement initiatives focused on improving outcomes for premature and critically ill infants. Across these roles, her work has consistently emphasized translating evidence, developmental principles, and quality-improvement concepts into practical approaches at the bedside.
FROM EXPERIENCE TO A FRAMEWORK
After decades at the bedside, Paula recognized that many of the practices known to support the developing brain were often taught, discussed, and implemented as separate aspects of neonatal care. The Neuroprotective Care Program™ grew from a desire to bring these interconnected principles together into a practical framework—one that helps clinicians see how each moment of care contributes to the infant’s overall experience, development, and long-term well-being.
A CONTINUING COMMITMENT
The Neuroprotective Care Program™ is intended to grow alongside the science of neonatal care. As evidence evolves, the framework and its educational resources will continue to be reviewed and refined, with a commitment to thoughtful translation of research into practical, developmentally supportive care for infants and families.