UPDATE: Molalla teen believed to be in danger has been found; officials said earlier he could be in Bend area

KTVZ on December 9, 2025

KTVZ

(Update: Missing teen found)

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Oregon Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Division, said late Tuesday it was thankful for the community support and had located a 15-year-old in foster care who went missing from Molalla and was believed to be in danger, and may have been in the Bend area.

Tyler Shoop, went missing from Molalla on Monday and was found Tuesday, the agency said. Further details were not revealed.

Earlier story:

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Oregon Department of Human Services Child Welfare Division is asking the public to help find a 15-year-old in foster care who went missing from Molalla on Monday, is believed to be in danger and could be in the Bend area.

ODHS asked the public for help in the effort to find Tyler Shoop and to contact 911 or local law enforcement if they believe they see him.

“Tyler Shoop is suspected to be in the Molalla or Bend area,” DHS said.

Name: Tyler ShoopPronouns: he/himDate of birth: 3/3/2010Height: 5-foot-9Weight: 148 poundsHair: BlondeEye color: Blue EyesOther identifying information: Tyler’s hair is cut short and is a reddish tint. He typically wears jeans that are really stained and a hat.Molalla Police Department # 25-024563National Center for Missing and Exploited Children #2070863

KTVZ News reached out to the Bend Police Department and the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, neither of which had any additional information to share about the missing teen.

“Sometimes, when a child is missing, they may be in significant danger, and ODHS may need to locate them to assess and support their safety,” the department said in a news release.

“As ODHS works to do everything it can to find these missing children and assess their safety, media alerts will be issued in some circumstances when it is determined necessary. Sometimes, in these situations, a child may go missing repeatedly, resulting in more than one media alert for the same child.

“Report child abuse to the Oregon Child Abuse Hotline by calling 1-855-503-SAFE (7233).  This toll-free number allows you to report abuse of any child or adult to the Oregon Department of Human Services, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year,” the department said.

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U.S. postal office warns holiday shoppers to ship early this season

KESQ on December 9, 2025

Tauli Anderson

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – As the holiday rush ramps up, post offices across the Valley are already seeing a surge in customers hoping to get gifts in the mail before Christmas. USPS Postmaster Andrea White says foot traffic has jumped by at least 20 percent.

Postal officials are urging people to mail packages as early as possible to avoid delays. They’ve released this year’s shipping deadlines.

Recommending First-Class Mail and USPS Ground Advantage to get those packages into the mail system by December 17th. Priority Mail, by December 18. If you’re one of those really, really procrastinators, December 20 for Priority Mail Express.

USPS recommends using the self-service kiosks available in many lobbies. Customers can buy postage, print labels, and drop packages directly into the outgoing slot — often in a fraction of the time.

With deadlines quickly approaching and lines already forming, USPS officials say the best strategy is simple: ship early. Dropping gifts in the mail sooner rather than later is the most reliable way to make sure they arrive before Christmas.

 

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Traffic signal upgrades on the way in Cathedral City

KESQ on December 9, 2025

Gavin Nguyen

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ) – Twelve intersections within Cathedral City are getting upgrades.

The project began on Monday and will continue until the spring of 2026.

The following intersections will be worked on during that period:

Ramon Road & Desert Vista Road/Avenida Del Yermo

Ramon Road & Whispering Palms Trail

Ramon Road & Cathedral Canyon Drive/Avenida Maravilla

Ramon Road & Da Vall Drive

Vista Chino Drive & Avenida Quintana/Desert Princess Drive

Date Palm Drive & Via Olivera

Date Palm Drive & Gerald Ford Drive

Gerald Ford Drive & Plumley Road/Avenida Del Sol Road

Dinah Shore Drive & Plumley Road

Dinah Shore Drive & Cathedral Canyon Drive

Landau Boulevard & 30th Avenue

East Palm Canyon Drive & El Dorado/East Canyon Plaza

New hardware upgrades are being installed, including advanced dilemma zone detection equipment, left turn phases, and pedestrian countdown heads. They are meant to provide added safety and improve traffic flow in the affected areas.

The city said residents should expect some delays during construction hours, which occur Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

For questions, you’re encouraged to contact Project Manager Andrew Lee at (760) 770-0319 or by email at alee@cathedralcity.gov.

Stay with KESQ as we hear from residents and the city on how these improvements will make your commute smoother and safer.

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Kate Hudson to receive Icon Award at Palm Springs Film Festival

KESQ on December 9, 2025

Jesus Reyes

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The Palm Springs International Film Awards announced that Kate Hudson is the recipient of the Icon Award, Actress, for her performance in Focus Features’ Song Sung Blue.

The Film Awards will take place on January 3, 2026, at the Palm Springs Convention Center, with the festival running January 2-12, 2026. The event will be presented by Kering and sponsored by Entertainment Tonight. You can watch the event live on CBS Local 2, coverage starts at 5pm

Palm Springs International Film Festival announces lineup of 168 films

“Kate Hudson’s turn in Song Sung Blue is deeply moving bringing warmth, vulnerability, and musical confidence to a role that demands both heart and grit,” said Festival Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi. “From her breakthrough in Almost Famous to her fearless turns in romance, comedy, and drama across her career, she has shown a remarkable ability to evolve as an artist. It is our privilege to honor her with the Icon Award, recognizing not just this performance but a body of work that continues to inspire.”

Based on a true story, Song Sung Blue follows Mike and Claire as they become Lightning and Thunder, a joyous Neil Diamond tribute band that takes them from a small garage to dive bar glory to an unlikely Milwaukee stardom defined by their moving devotion to one another and the raucous power of “Sweet Caroline.” But when tragedy strikes and plunges them to the bottom, it’s the revelatory power of their love — for music and for each other — that binds the pair, provides a way forward, and ultimately helps them remember one another.

The Focus Features film is directed and written by Craig Brewer, starring Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Michael Imperioli, Ella Anderson, King Princess, Mustafa Shakir, Hudson Hensley with Fisher Stevens and Jim Belushi. Song Sung Blue opens in theatres nationwide on Christmas Day.

Hudson received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

Kate Hudson is a Golden Globe Award winner and Academy Award-nominated actress, singer/songwriter, producer, entrepreneur, and bestselling author. She is best known for her roles in Almost Famous, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and Bride Wars, which she also produced. She co-starred with Mark Wahlberg in Deepwater Horizon, Marshall, opposite Chadwick Boseman and Sterling K. Brown, and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in Music. She co-starred opposite Octavia Spencer in the Apple TV+ series Truth Be Told, and starred in Ana Lily Amirpour’s mystery thriller Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon. She was part of the all-star ensemble of the Netflix global smash hit, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

She currently stars in and executive produces the hit Netflix series Running Point, which has wrapped its second season.

Hudson joins this year’s previously announced honorees Michael B. Jordan (Icon Award), Leonardo DiCaprio (Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor), Ethan Hawke (Career Achievement Award), Adam Sandler (Chairman’s Award), Amanda Seyfried (Desert Palm Achievement Award), Hamnet director Chloé Zhao as well as actors Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal (Vanguard Award), Frankenstein (Visionary Award) and Sentimental Value cast members Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, and Elle Fanning (International Star Award).

Past winners of the Icon Award include Glenn Close, Willem Dafoe, Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, Lady Gaga, Paul Giamatti, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. In their respective years, Close (The Wife), Dafoe (The Florida Project), Duvall (The Judge), Giamatti (The Holdovers) and Streep (August Osage County) were each nominated for an Academy Award in their respective years.

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U.S. Women’s National Team will play a match at UCSB in late January against Chile

KEYT on December 9, 2025

Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The U.S. Women’s National Team will finish its January training camp with a match against Chile on Jan. 27 at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara, Calif. (7 p.m. PT / 10 pm ET on TBS and HBO Max in English, Universo and Peacock in Spanish, and on the radio in English on Westwood One and in Spanish on Futbol de Primera).

The USA’s first training camp of the year will run from Jan. 17-27 at the Dignity Health Sports Park (DHSP) and the clash against Chile will cap a two-game set that will kick off the 2026 USWNT schedule.

As previously announced, the first match will take place on Jan. 24 at DHSP against Paraguay (2:30 p.m. PT / 5:30 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV and HBO Max in English, on Universo and Peacock in Spanish, on Westwood One radio in English and on Futbol de Primera radio in Spanish).

The match at the campus of UC Santa Barbara marks the first-ever international match for the USWNT on the Central Coast of California and just the second-ever match in the state of California being played north of Los Angeles and south of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Emma Says

“One of the goals of U.S. Soccer is to take our National Teams to new markets around the country, and I applaud that,” said U.S. head coach Emma Hayes. “Playing in a city for the first time is not a common occurrence at this point in our history so I know our players will enjoy being in beautiful Santa Barbara and our staff are really looking forward to January camp and these two matches against South American countries. This is the start of an important year for our team and as always, we’re focused on maximizing every minute we get with the players.”

Chancellor Dennis Assanis Says

“UC Santa Barbara is honored to host the United States Women’s National Soccer Team – one of the most successful teams in the world,” said Assanis. “We are proud to host an event that will highlight competitive excellence, energize and bring our community together, showcase beautiful UC Santa Barbara, and celebrate the next generation of athletes and leaders. We look forward to a memorable experience at Harder Stadium for the campus and the greater Santa Barbara communities.”

History with Chile

Chile is ranked 45th in the world and fifth in South America behind Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Paraguay. The U.S. and Chile have met just three times, the first two in a pair of friendlies in 2018, which were also in California. The most recent meeting came during group play at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, a hard-fought 3-0 win for the USA in Paris, France.

The USWNT-Santa Barbara Story

While the Jan. 27 game will be the USWNT’s first-ever international match in Santa Barbara, the U.S. women have some history in the city that has a link to the first of USA’s four FIFA Women’s World Cup titles. The USWNT first held a training camp at UCSB in the fall of 1991 prior to leaving for the 1991 FIFA Women’s World Cup in China PR and played two exhibition games at Harder Stadium, including an extremely rare match for the USWNT against a collegiate side. The U.S. defeated a UCSB Women’s Soccer Team that was ranked in the top five in the country by a 10-0 score on Oct. 19 before downing a team of Southern California Women’s All-Stars the next day. Just a few weeks later, the USA departed for China and the first FIFA Women’s World Cup, which it would win to earn the program’s first star above the crest.

Carin Jennings, now known as Carin Jennings-Gabarra, stands as one of the most storied athletes to emerge from UC Santa Barbara, forging a powerful connection between the Gauchos and the United States Women’s National Team. A standout at UCSB from 1983–1986, Jennings became the program’s first true national superstar, earning All-America honors and rewriting the school’s record book. She still stands as the programs career leader in goals (102), assists (62) and points (266).

Her excellence continued on the world stage, where she became a pivotal figure for the USWNT, helping lead the United States to its historic 1991 FIFA Women’s World Cup title and earning the tournament’s Golden Ball as its top player.

The USWNT also held training camps in Santa Barbara in March of 2019 prior to a series of April friendlies and in late June/early July of 2023, leading up to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The USWNT trained at Harder Stadium in 2019 and at Westmont College in adjacent Montecito in 2023. The USMNT played an international match at Harder Stadium in 1993 during early preparations for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, drawing Romania, 1-1, in front of 9,127 fans.

The Arnhold Director of Athletics, Kelly Barsky Says

“Bringing the U.S. Women’s National Team to Harder Stadium means more than just hosting a match,” said Barsky. “It’s a celebration of connection, community and excellence. Sport has the ability to unite and coalesce around something bigger than ourselves. It doesn’t get any bigger and more special on a National and international stage than the USWNT. At UC Santa Barbara, we are deeply honored to host the exceptional national team athletes and coaches, continue our storied tradition of soccer excellence and celebrate our greater Santa Barbara community by bringing this special game to Harder Stadium, Soccer Heaven. Go Gauchos!”

ABOUT HARDER STADIUM

Harder Stadium, UC Santa Barbara’s iconic outdoor venue, has long been celebrated as “Soccer Heaven.” In addition to serving as the home of UCSB Men’s and Women’s Soccer, the stadium has welcomed some of the sport’s most prestigious events, including the NCAA College Cup in 2010 and 2018. Harder Stadium also hosted an international friendly between Wrexham AFC and AFC Bournemouth during its “2024 Wrex Coast Tour,” and in the coming years will become the home pitch for USL League One’s newest club, the Santa Barbara Sky.

Visit Santa Barbara Says

“Visit Santa Barbara was honored to support the scouting crew and source accommodations for the teams in partnership with UCSB,” said Kathy Janega-Dykes, president/CEO of Visit Santa Barbara, the area’s destination marketing organization. “Our hospitality community is grateful for the opportunity to host the teams and their fans, and appreciates the meaningful economic impact it will have on our region.”

TICKETS

The presale for these matches will begin on Wed., Dec. 10 at 10 a.m. PT and run to Friday, Dec. 12 at 8 a.m. PT.

Tickets for both matches will go on sale to the public on Friday, Dec. 12 at 10 a.m. PT.

Circle Insider members supporting the U.S. Soccer Development Fund can receive individual customer support and concierge services for their ticketing needs. Click here or contact circles@ussoccer.org for more information.

UC SANTA BARBARA EXCLUSIVE OFFERS

UC Santa Barbara, in coordination with U.S. Soccer, will make 500 discounted tickets available to UCSB students at a $20 face value beginning Thursday, Dec. 11 at 10 a.m. PT. Additionally, UCSB Faculty and Staff will have access to purchase tickets in a presale that will also begin on Thursday, Dec. 11 at 10 a.m. PT. More information will become available at that time.

EXCLUSIVE PRESALES FOR U.S. SOCCER INSIDERS

For the opportunity to buy tickets before the general public, fans should consider becoming U.S. Soccer Insiders. Membership is free for Standard Insiders. Learn more.

Sales Schedule Presale Date & Start Time

Circle Insiders Presale (Circle Insiders) Wednesday, Dec. 10 | 10 a.m. PT

VIP Insiders Presale (VIP Insiders) Wednesday, Dec. 10 | 1 p.m. PT

Premium Insiders Presale (Premium & Premium Family Insiders) Wednesday, Dec. 10 | 4 p.m. PT

Standard Insiders Presale (Standard Insiders) Thursday, Dec. 11 | 10 a.m. PT

Visa Presale (Visa cardholders only) Thursday, Dec. 11 | 1 p.m. PT

Public Sale Friday, Dec. 12 | 10 a.m. PT

VISA PRESALE As the official payment technology sponsor of U.S. Soccer, Visa is offering cardholders an opportunity to purchase tickets ahead of the public on-sale date. Visa cardholders can purchase tickets from Thursday, Dec. 11 at 1 p.m. PT to Friday, Dec. 12 at 8 a.m. PT through ussoccer.com. As the preferred card of U.S. Soccer, Visa will be the only payment method accepted during the Visa presale.

(Article courtesy of U.S. Soccer).

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Onvida Health announces new weight loss program

KYMA on December 9, 2025

Madeline Murray

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Onvida Health has announced a new weight loss program to help patients improve their health.

According to a press release, the duodenal switch procedure is a type of surgery “that combines stomach reduction with intestinal rerouting.”

Onvida Health says the surgery helps patients who struggle with severe obesity and Type 2 diabetes by providing both a transformative weight loss and significant benefits to their health.

“The duodenal switch is one of the most powerful and transformative tools we have for patients that are living with severe obesity,” said Dr. Robert King, Bariatric Surgeon at Onvida Health. “For many patients, this surgery is truly life changing. It allows them not just to lose weight but feel better, move more easily, and take back control of their health. And now, they can do that right here in Yuma.”

Onvida Health says the procedure is led by Dr. King and Gustavo Ortega as the surgery requires a “high level of special knowledge and teamwork.”

“The addition of the duodenal switch reinforces the team’s commitment to providing comprehensive, individualized weight-loss care to Yuma and the surrounding communities,” said Dr. Ortega, Bariatric Surgeon at Onvida Health. “It’s another example of our commitment to progress and to caring for the communities we have the privilege of serving.”

King says, “We weren’t capturing some of these patients that I was at first sending them to Phoenix or sending them to San Diego, or Tucson, and I was like wait, we should be doing this here.”

According to Onvida Health, this procedure has historically been the best operation to maintaining weight loss longterm.

“The duodenal switch is also a very old operation, we create a gastric sleeve, a little larger than what we do for the stand alone sleeve procedure, and then we bypass to a different portion of the intestines, this leads to a lot more durable, more weight loss,” says Dr. King.

The operation is most impactful for patients who have severe obesity or type two diabetes.

To date, Onvida Health has already performed three procedures.

“The obesity epidemic is still rising with almost fifty to 60% of the population having the disease of obesity, and we are looking at those needs and making sure that we are able to help as many people as we can here,” says Dr. King.

Onvida Health shares what this now means for patients to have such a advanced procedure so close to home.

Ortega says, “It means they have a team, it means they have a team at a comprehensive center, who is willing and able to offer this operations.”

One of the doctors who performs the surgery shares a message with future patients.

“Just know that we’re here, we’re available, we’re excited to help you all. We believe that just because we live in a small community, does not mean that we should deter from the standard of care,” says Dr. Ortega.

To learn more about the procedure, click here.

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Sage Raceway owner charged with felony sexual battery of a child

KIFI on December 9, 2025

Maile Sipraseuth

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)– Owner of Sage Raceway, Rubin Burkett, was arrested last week after a 17-year-old reported to police that he was sexually assaulted while driving a tractor mower doing yard work on the raceway.

According to court documents, the victim told officers that he had been sexually assaulted and harassed by 54-year-old Burkett between June and July.

During an interview with detectives, Burkett repeatedly made several sexual remarks to the victim.

The victim said he had tried to get away from Burkett, but was unable to.

According to court records, Burkett began touching the teen’s face and hair.

Then, Burkett began to sexually assault the victim.

On Oct. 14, Burkett’s attorney stated that he is invoking his 5th amendment right, and will cooperate with court proceedings.

Burkett was released after posting a $50,000 bail. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 23. If convicted, he could face life in prison.

Sage Raceway responds to charges against owner

In an online statement, Sage Raceway addressed the charges, stating that while the allegations had come to light, “these events will not impact the operations or schedule of the upcoming racing season.”

“The racers and community are our top priority,” said Operations Manager Ralph Perea. “Our team is fully prepared to maintain smooth, professional operations throughout the season. We deeply appreciate the continued support from our racing community and look forward to delivering the high-quality racing experience everyone expects.”

The raceway also confirmed that all planned events will move forward as planned.

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A Utah man’s death-defying pivot to the circus arts

KIFI on December 9, 2025

CNN Newsource

Originally Published: 08 DEC 25 15:46 ET

By Peter Rosen, KSL

Click here for updates on this story

    SALT LAKE CITY (KSL) — Bryan Flanders thought he was going to die. He ended up teaching circus arts instead.

His story begins with a small bump on his shoulder that grew bigger and more painful. He went to a doctor who he said diagnosed it as terminal cancer.

“It was a type of cancer that the life expectancy was anywhere from about one to five years, and there just wasn’t any treatment for it at the time,” his wife, Chantel recalled. At the time, they had been married for two years.

“I mean they (his doctors) said that essentially that in the next couple years large chunks of your body would be cut off and until you would be done,” Bryan Flanders said.

A month later, he found out he did not have cancer and was not going to die. But the experience already had him thinking.

Flanders had been on track for a career in public policy. He was working full-time to put himself through graduate school, and he had an internship, as well.

“It just kind of felt like, why was I doing all this for if I was going to die,” he said. “What was the point of this, you know, meat grinder lifestyle of just working myself to death, and it made me want to choose happiness.”

Happiness for Flanders turned out to be taking his shoes off and becoming a yoga instructor.

Until he was diagnosed with cancer, yoga was “something for older people,” not him, he said.

“Bryan was bullet bike-riding, rock climbing, tough guy,” Chantel Flanders said.

But during that month, he tried yoga, took to it and found himself teaching at studios up and down the Wasatch Front.

He learned acroyoga (acro, as in acrobatic) and then more circus arts and opened the Salt Lake City Circus Arts Center at Trolley Square.

“It really shifted my thinking into helping people feel better in their bodies and helping people become physically fit,” he said.

“When I was dating Bryan, he always said, ‘My ultimate goal is I want to be a college professor. That’s what I want do. I want to teach,'” Chantel Flanders said.

“And this is not what he foresaw himself teaching, but he’s a very good teacher. It’s amazing how he can look at someone and know the intricacies about what they need to change in their body to make something more successful.”

You can see how thoroughly Bryan and Chantel Flanders have steeped themselves in acroyoga and circus by flipping through their family photos – a long series of the couple and now their 3-year-old daughter Eleanor and dog, Archimedes, in perfectly-balanced acrobatic poses.

“Bryan and my photos are very ‘OK, what are we going to wear? What heels is Chantel wearing? What new outfit should we go get? How can we match?’ I think everybody thinks that that’s me. It’s actually Bryan,” Chantel said.

“Ninety-five percent of the time Bryan is down on the ground on his belly. He’s framing the shot. I’m the one that’s standing in in frame so he can focus on something,” Chantel said. “And then he sets the timer, he runs over and we’ve got no more than 20 seconds from the time that he leaves and we strike a few poses, try to listen for the camera going off and then we go back and see if we got anything.”

Bryan Flanders says he is grateful for the cancer he didn’t have.

“Everything that happens to us helps (us) become who we are, and I for sure wouldn’t change it,” he said.

“A little face face-to-face with death changes how you view life.”

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by KSL’s editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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AWC to host first Fall Commencement Ceremony

KYMA on December 9, 2025

Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Arizona Western College (AWC) is hosting the first Fall Commencement Ceremony this week.

According to a press release, the ceremony is taking place on Friday, December 12, at the AWC Amphitheater on the Yuma Campus at 2:00 p.m.

AWC says this is to celebrate students from Yuma and La Paz Counties and those who will be “obtaining more than one certificate or degree.”

Courtesy: Arizona Western College

In addition, AWC says Alyssa Virginia Hernandez, a Cibola High School alumni, will serve as the speaker during the ceremony.

The ceremony is open to the public and can be viewed on AWC’s website and YouTube channel.

To learn more about the upcoming commencement ceremony, click here or read the press release below.

AWC celebrates graduates at inaugural Fall CommencementDownload

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‘Things just got better’: New technology helps preemies breathe easier at St. Charles

KTVZ on December 9, 2025

Jillian Fortner

(Update: adding comments from St. Charles, parents)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – St. Charles Bend has become the first neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Oregon to use a new breathing support technology called NAVA, designed to help premature babies breathe more comfortably.

NAVA, which stands for Neurally Adjusted Ventilatory Assist, responds to a baby’s own signals to match each breath, instead of delivering air on a fixed schedule like traditional ventilators.

“It works in combination with a specialized feeding tube and ventilator,” said Cammie Egan, a neonatal nurse practitioner for St. Charles. “The feeding tube has sensors on it, so every time the baby’s diaphragm moves, the sensors pick up that signal.”

In the past six months, more than a dozen infants have benefited from the technology, including baby Ronan, who was born three months early. His parents traveled from their home in Lakeview, about three hours away, for his care.

“In the first couple of days, he was put on NAVA,” said Ronan’s father, Jason Morelli. “Before that, there were alarms going off because he wasn’t getting enough oxygen.”

He said once Ronan started using NAVA, the improvements came quickly, and brought a huge sense of relief.

“He wasn’t breathing as hard, the alarms weren’t going off as much, and he was sleeping better,” said Morelli. “I’m grateful they have this technology. I don’t know what it would’ve been like if we had to transport him to another hospital.”

Hospital providers say the system supports infant development and allows babies to breathe independently sooner.

“We’re really proud of it. It’s taken a lot of teamwork between our nursing staff, our respiratory therapists, the providers, really to to learn this technology,” Egan said.

Ronan recently came off ventilator support and is expected to go home around his original due date, January 17th.

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