When Dr. Brooke Bergman learned she would need to deliver her baby at just 34 weeks, she understood the medical risks. As a family medicine physician, she recognized the signs of severe preeclampsia and knew her daughter would likely require specialized care.
What she didn’t fully anticipate was how much it would mean to receive that care just minutes from home.
After weeks of close monitoring by her obstetrician, Dr. Kyle Wilson, Bergman’s pregnancy reached a turning point during a specialist appointment in Tulsa. An ultrasound showed her baby had stopped growing, and the recommendation was immediate delivery.
Rather than staying in Tulsa, Bergman asked if it would be safe to return to Stillwater Medical Center, where she had already been receiving care.
“I just wanted to be close to home,” Bergman said. “Our families are nearby, and we knew Stillwater’s NICU could care for babies at her gestational age.”
Within hours of returning to Stillwater, Bergman delivered a healthy baby girl, Charlotte, weighing just 3 pounds, 11 ounces. Because she was born prematurely, Charlotte was taken directly to the OnCue Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
“That was the first time someone said, ‘She’s going to go straight to the NICU,'” Bergman recalled. “As a physician, I knew that was probably going to happen, but as a mom, I hadn’t really let myself go there yet.”
Recovering from an emergency cesarean section while her newborn was in the NICU was emotionally difficult. Yet, Bergman says the experience was made significantly easier because her family was able to remain in Stillwater.
“I can’t imagine having to be in the car for an hour or more after a C-section just to see my baby,” she said. “Being close meant we could be there for nearly every feeding, every care time, and all those moments that are so important for bonding.”
Charlotte spent 13 days in the NICU before going home. During that time, Bergman and her husband developed close relationships with the nurses and physicians caring for their daughter.
“The staff knew us by name almost immediately,” she said. “They knew Charlotte’s personality. They would tell us funny stories about her, celebrate her progress with us, and truly made us feel like she was being cared for by family.”
Unlike larger hospitals where staff often care for several critically ill infants at once, Bergman said the smaller size of Stillwater Medical Center’s NICU allowed caregivers to spend more time with each family.
“Sometimes people assume a smaller NICU means less specialized care, but that wasn’t our experience at all,” Bergman said. “Many of the nurses have years of prior experience. We received incredible medical care, but with a level of personal attention that made all the difference.”
The convenience of staying local extended beyond medical care. Instead of navigating traffic, paying for hotels, or spending hours commuting, Bergman and her husband were able to focus their energy on Charlotte’s recovery.
“It wasn’t just about convenience,” she said. “Every minute you spend driving is time you’re not with your baby.”
Because they lived only 12 minutes from the hospital, they attended nearly every scheduled feeding and care time, held Charlotte skin-to-skin, fed her bottles, and participated in her daily care—experiences many NICU families treasure but may miss when treatment is far from home.
Those moments helped transform an uncertain season into one filled with hope.
“The nurses would pop in and talk with us about life and remind us that one day Charlotte would be running around like any other little girl,” Bergman said. “They helped us look beyond the monitors and IVs to the future.”
Today, Charlotte is thriving. At her six-month appointment, her pediatrician shared that she was growing along the standard growth curve and meeting developmental milestones.
Looking back, Bergman believes access to high-quality neonatal care in Stillwater changed her family’s experience.
“We have access to an incredible opportunity right here in our community,” she said. “You get to stay close to home, be present with your baby, and know they’re receiving excellent care.”
For families throughout north-central Oklahoma—including those from Perry, Blackwell, Cushing, Perkins, Morrison and surrounding communities—that local access can make an overwhelming situation feel just a little more manageable.
“It just means access,” Bergman said. “Access to excellent care, access to your baby, and the comfort of knowing you’re close to home during one of the most important moments of your life.”
That impact continues to grow. Earlier this year, Stillwater Medical celebrated the first anniversary of its OnCue Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), marking a milestone for families, providers and the community. On April 1, Stillwater Medical marked the first anniversary of the OnCue NICU with a graduation celebration for families who received care during its inaugural year. During the event, hospital leaders shared that the unit had already cared for more than 100 infants and their families in 2025.
The celebration also recognized the community partnerships that helped make the NICU possible, including support from BancFirst and OnCue. Together, those partnerships have allowed families like the Bergmans to receive advanced neonatal care close to home—providing not only expert medical treatment, but also the priceless gift of remaining together during some of life’s most challenging moments.