Visit the office of neonatologist Ed Bell, M.D., and before long he’ll likely begin showing you his library of patient photos. Or leading you through the Tiniest Babies Registry Web site he built and maintains.

He can’t help himself. After 23 years in the University of Iowa Children's Hospital Special Care Nurseries—14 years as director—Bell, 54, still has a glowing case of “proud papa” syndrome. He loves his work, and it shows.

“Once I reached the clinical years of training (at Columbia University), I found that I enjoyed working with children and their parents. I liked the people I met in pediatrics and felt drawn to be among them,” Bell says.

Bell’s years at University of Iowa Children's Hospital, located at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, have been hugely successful. However, he is quick to point out that the Special Care Nurseries are far from a one-person operation: “All our neonatologists, nurses, and other support staff do their jobs exceedingly well.

The team’s main functions are to help premature and critically ill babies survive and to teach younger doctors and nurses the skills necessary to carry on this work. Nearly 20,000 infants from all over the world have benefited from the Special Care Nurseries since they opened nearly 30 years ago. The survival rate for small premature infants treated in University of Iowa Children's Hospital is better than in nine out of ten hospitals in the United States.

Bell’s care of medically fragile babies and their families isn’t just an occupation, it’s his life’s work. In addition to his commitment to the Special Care Nurseries, he volunteers his time to help advance newborn care in developing countries. He has worked as a volunteer in Lithuania and Turkey this year, and he returns each year to work with neonatologists and nurses in Romania.

“Sometimes they’ll meet me at the plane and rush me straight to the hospital if there’s a particularly difficult case,” Bell says. “I feel very fortunate to be in a position to help.”

Awards honor Bell’s compassion for children

In recognition of Dr. Bell’s efforts, the Association of American Medical Colleges awarded him its prestigious “Humanism in Medicine” Award for 2002. The award honors a single medical school faculty physician from a U.S. or Canadian medical school who is a mentor for medical students and a practitioner of patient-centered care.

Dr. Bell also received the 2001 Faculty Humanism Award from the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine.

Like a proud father, Edward F. Bell, M.D., joins a few of the 20,000 children who, as premature or critically ill babies, received specialized care during the last three decades at University of Iowa Children's Hospital.

“I have the best job in the world. It’s such a privilege to share in these important events in the life of a family.”

—Edward F. Bell, M.D., neonatologist