Juliette and Kendall Kennedy arrived five weeks early, born prematurely at 24 weeks, and they have spent every day since separated in two different neonatal intensive care units across Boston. Their parents, Mike and Kelsey Kennedy of Canton, Massachusetts, are pleading with hospital staff to bring their daughters back under one roof before the year is out.
Juliette was transferred to the Brigham and Women's Hospital NICU, while Kendall remains at Boston Children's Hospital, according to CBS News. Kendall has spina bifida and underwent surgery at Boston Children's Hospital, while Juliette underwent heart surgery at the same hospital before being transported back to Brigham and Women's to recover. The twins have now been apart for five weeks, and Mike and Kelsey Kennedy say they want their daughters treated together in a single NICU.
Mike Kennedy said doctors and nurses have been trying to reunite the twins, and that it has been difficult for parents to watch their daughters struggle in separate units without being able to help directly. The couple has two other young children waiting at home in Canton, adding to the strain of splitting their time between two hospitals. “We take every little thing as a win,” is how Mike Kennedy describes the family's outlook, noting that each good day for either daughter counts as a victory, and that spending the rest of the year with both girls in one NICU would feel like a major success.
How Hospitals Decide on Transfers
Brigham and Women's Hospital says any transfer decision is based on a baby's medical condition, stability, clinical needs, parental wishes and bed availability, the hospital's own account of its policy indicates. The hospital says any transfer discussion would be grounded in what is medically appropriate and handled in close partnership with the family, though it declined to comment on the Kennedy twins' specific case, citing patient privacy. Boston Children's Hospital did not respond to questions about the parents' transfer request.
Brigham and Women's Hospital says it works closely with partner institutions to provide specialized neonatal care, and on its own site the hospital notes its NICUs are prepared to accommodate and care for twins, triplets and higher-order multiples, per Brigham and Women's Hospital. Boston Children's Hospital, for its part, describes its Spina Bifida and Congenital Spinal Anomalies Center as the only one in New England that treats patients with spina bifida into early adulthood, according to Boston Children's Hospital, coordinating specialists from more than a dozen specialties into a single care plan.
A Strike Looms Over the NICU
Compounding the family's anxiety, Brigham and Women's Hospital has scheduled a nurses' strike, and Mike Kennedy said the looming work stoppage has reduced the family's sense of comfort and reliability during an already fragile stretch. About 4,000 Brigham nurses, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, are set to walk out at 7 a.m. on October 14 unless Mass General Brigham reaches a contract agreement first, according to the Massachusetts Nurses Association. The union says it delivered the legally required 10-day strike notice on October 2, after nurses voted 2,986 to 215 on September 24 to authorize the walkout.
If it goes forward, the stoppage would mark the second strike by Brigham nurses this year, following a one-day strike in July that was met with a four-day lockout by hospital officials, per WBUR. The Boston Globe reports it would be the biggest open-ended walkout by nurses in Massachusetts history. The dispute centers on cost-of-living raises, health insurance costs, staffing levels and limits on temporary travel nurses, as reported by Medical Daily, which also noted that during the July stoppage the hospital oriented nearly 1,300 replacement nurses, including some trained for high-acuity units such as neonatal intensive care.
Hospital Pledges Continued NICU Coverage
Brigham and Women's Hospital says it will continue providing safe, high-quality NICU care throughout any work stoppage, supported by experienced clinicians and specialized NICU nurses, the hospital told CBS News. The Massachusetts Nurses Association, meanwhile, describes the planned action as an unfair labor practice strike, alleging that nurses have filed multiple unfair labor practice charges against Brigham since July — including one claim that the hospital illegally prevented NICU nurses from exercising their federally protected right to participate in the strike. That allegation has not been independently adjudicated in the available record.
For now, the Kennedys continue splitting their days between two hospitals, hoping the medical teams caring for Juliette and Kendall can find a path to bringing their daughters together. Mike Kennedy said the family treats every small improvement as a win, holding onto the hope that a shared NICU room is still within reach before the year ends.
