Diwali Gala Donors Fund 3 NICU Omnibeds | Trillium Health Partners Foundation

A year ago, Karissa and Cameron shared the hardest days of their lives with a ballroom full of strangers.

From 2.5 Pounds to Thriving: Rome’s NICU Journey

Their son, Rome, had arrived early --- born at 33 weeks' gestation --- weighing just 2.5 pounds.

Rome would spend five weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Trillium Health Partners Credit Valley Hospital --- all of it in an Omnibed.

Sharing Their Story at the 2025 Trillium Diwali Gala

"It was amazing to lift the lid of the Omnibed and, suddenly, we could touch him and bond with him, even with all the wires," mom Karissa shared in a video that played during the 2025 Trillium Diwali Gala before more than 1,100 attendees. "I could put my hand in, hold his hand, sit there with him."

Premature baby lying on his side in an Omnibed, connected to monitors, as a parent’s hand reaches through a porthole to hold his tiny hand.

Born at 33 weeks and weighing just over 2.5 pounds, Rome spent five weeks in an Omnibed at Trillium Health Partners Credit Valley Hospital’s NICU in 2025.

Premature baby with monitor leads on his chest and a feeding tube looks toward the camera while an adult hand holds his fingers inside an Omnibed.

Smiling couple in glasses take a selfie in a hospital room with their newborn son between them, swaddled in a pink blanket.

Karissa and Cameron with newborn Rome at Trillium Health Partners Credit Valley Hospital in 2025.

In the video, the young Mississauga couple described what it meant to have their newborn son cared for in an Omnibed --- an incubator and warmer in one --- during a critical period in his recovery.

One Omnibed Goal, Three Omnibeds Funded

Guests at the gala were asked to help fund one new Omnibed for the NICU. The video inspired action, with donors generously funding three new Omnibeds.

One year later, all three Omnibeds are in use in the NICU, and Rome is thriving at home.

“It's very inspiring,” says Karissa, a year later. “Sharing our story was something very easy and simple to do. It took a little bit of effort to make a huge change. And I always believe in being kind.”

Now 17 months, Rome is a bundle of curiosity and determination, says his mother, walking, climbing, and healthy.

Smiling toddler Rome in a blue baseball cap and cream sweatshirt clasps his hands outdoors in front of a building.

Rome is now an active and curious 17-month-old.

Toddler in a blue cap and light blue T-shirt sits in a stroller on a sidewalk, resting his cheek on his hand.

Rome takes in the world from his stroller.

Mother, father and laughing toddler in a tan hoodie take a family selfie outdoors, with the boy seated in his stroller.

Karissa, Cameron and Rome today. “He’s doing really well. He’s a strong little boy.”

What Is an Omnibed and How Does It Help Premature Babies?

Monica Dhaliwal has worked in the NICU since 2010 and joined Trillium Health Partners as a nurse practitioner student in 2015. "This team raised me," she says.

“Hand Hugs” and Bonding Without Leaving the Bed

She also knows the unit as a parent. Her own daughter spent about a month in a NICU isolette at Trillium Health Partners Credit Valley Hospital, learning to eat and growing stronger. "As a parent, I really appreciated being able to hold my baby without taking her out of the isolette when she was critically ill," says Monica.

She gave her daughter "hand hugs," something the team encourages every family to try: one hand cupping the baby's head, the other at their bottom, so they feel held the way they did in the womb. The Omnibed makes that possible even for the sickest babies.

"They're not just pieces of equipment," she says. "It's really the next best thing to the maternal womb."

Less Stress for Fragile Newborns

For a premature baby, almost anything can quickly become stressful. "These are premature, vulnerable babies that respond pretty acutely to stress, and stress is really anything that disrupts them," adds Monica.

Newborn swaddled inside a closed Omnibed incubator in a private NICU room, with vital-signs monitors on the wall beside it.

With an Omnibed, the care team can weigh a baby, take X-rays and do procedures without moving the baby out of the bed.

The Omnibed lets the care team do nearly everything without moving the baby. Staff can weigh a baby inside the bed and take an X-ray by sliding a panel underneath. They can open the bed to perform procedures, then close it again, all while keeping the baby's temperature steady.

An Incubator and Warmer in One

Dr. Hannah Wigle, a paediatrician who works in the NICU, explains that the bed works in two phases. At birth, it stays open as a warmer while the team stabilizes the baby and places monitors. "Once we're happy with how the baby's stabilized, we're able to actually close that Omnibed back down, and it becomes an isolette," she said. "We can continue to monitor the baby, but more hands off, to more mimic the natural intrauterine environment."

That also makes a difference for staff. "Speaking from a physician perspective, it makes our job a lot easier when we're able to observe a baby in their environment without even opening the doors, without even touching them," Dr. Wigle says.

Close-up of a swaddled newborn sleeping on a pink blanket inside an Omnibed, with a monitor lead attached.

Once a baby is stable, the Omnibed closes into an isolette, so the team can monitor them hands-off in conditions that mimic the womb.

Why Does the Trillium Health Partners NICU Need New Omnibeds?

Ontario’s Busiest Birthing Hospital

Trillium Health Partners is home to the largest number of births in Ontario. Since the NICUs at Mississauga Hospital and Credit Valley Hospital merged, the unit can care for up to 48 babies at a time.

The need for new beds was twofold, Monica says. The older isolettes were reaching the end of their lifespan. And the unit is seeing more babies who are smaller and born earlier. "As the medicine in obstetrics has grown, so has medicine in neonatology," she says. "Our babies are getting sicker and more complex, so the technology around the baby should only grow as well."

Bringing Babies Home Sooner

The new beds also bring families home. Babies born too small to stay in Mississauga are often cared for at hospitals in downtown Toronto. With more Omnibeds, Trillium Health Partners can bring them back to its NICU sooner.

"It allows parents to be much closer to their babies, come visit more, and be more participants in their babies' care," says Dr. Wigle.

Clinician in glasses leans over an Omnibed while gloved hands care for a newborn inside, as another person looks on from the foreground.

Trillium Health Partners’ paediatrician Dr. Hannah Wigle tends to a baby in the NICU.

Rome Today: “A Strong Little Boy”

Rome spent more than 40 days in the Omnibed, recovering. His parents were with him most days, but the nights he faced on his own.

Karissa remembers how much the Omnibed changed those weeks. "We were able to lift the top off and have that access, with the tubes moved, especially with the feeding tube and all the heart monitors attached," she says. Changing diapers, even bathing him, became something they could do together.

Today, Rome is anything but fragile. "He's very silly, very talkative,” says his mom. "He's very sociable, and I want to thank the NICU for that, because he did have to stay by himself for five weeks," she says. "He's doing really well. He's a strong little boy."

How Donors Tripled a Gift for the Most Fragile of Patients

Upon learning that donors funded three Omnibeds, Karissa was deeply moved.

"I was shocked, like a shocked happy," she says. "Our little boy was able to touch so many people."

Sleeping newborn swaddled in white inside a clear Omnibed incubator with round portholes, in the NICU.

Trillium Diwali Gala donors set out to fund one new Omnibed and funded three.

For the family, telling their story was a small act with a long reach. "We're just a little family going through so much, and it's all overwhelming and scary at first," she says. "To know that our little story helps make positive changes at the hospital, where we were taken such good care of, means we can give back in that way."

She hopes others see what giving can do. "Your goal as a hospital was to get one, and we were able to triple that," she says. "That is very touching."

A Thank You from the NICU Team

For the people who care for Trillium Health Partners tiniest patients, the gift was personal.

"I'm so grateful for the donations and the support for our tiniest members of the community," adds Dr. Wigle. "It enables us to do our jobs well. It allows parents to have good, consistent access to their babies, and the babies to have the safest environment in which to grow and develop."

"We're just so thankful," Monica says. "This technology has really made an impact, not only for the staff but for the families as well. It brings the families closer to them."

At the 2025 Trillium Diwali Gala, more than 1,100 guests saw Rome’s story and funded three new Omnibeds for the NICU.

Celebrating 25 Years of the Trillium Diwali Gala

2026 marks the 25th anniversary of the Trillium Diwali Gala. For a quarter century, the community has gathered to celebrate the festival of lights and to bring new equipment, programs and care to Trillium Health Partners.

Karissa's message to this year's guests is simple. "Thank you for all of your generosity and support," she says. "Even though we may not know each other, you can help take care of those little ones in the community. They are the next generation."

“Our Little Boy Touched So Many People”: The Impact of Trillium Diwali Gala Donors