By Jay Dunn, The Salinas Californian

SALINAS, CA – October 18, 2015 –  In a touching commemoration of love on Sunday, families and staff of the neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU) at Natividad Medical Center celebrated the team’s 10th anniversary with a Halloween-themed get-together.

It was a graduation, of sorts, and a happy reunion for parents, their children and the nurses and staff who guided their growth at such a delicate time.

“Today we are celebrating the tenth anniversary of our Level-3 designation NICU. We have invited over 1,500 families to come and join us with our NICU graduates, and we’ve had at least 850 RSVPs,” said April Ritchie, director of women’s and children’s services at the hospital.

The party was beautifully organized, with food and drink, picnic tables, and myriad family-friendly activities.

Kids could decorate pumpkins, have their faces painted, play Halloween-themed games, take pictures in a photo booth, or have a keepsake sketch made of them. Before-and-after posters celebrated many of the children’s progress.

Before-and-after posters celebrating children’s healthy graduation from the neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU) at the Natividad Medical Center in Salinas, which is marking its 10th anniversary. (Photo: Jay Dunn/The Salinas Californian)

Kids attending Sunday’s NICU graduation party decorate pumpkins at Natividad Medical Center in Salinas. (Photo: Jay Dunn/The Salinas Californian)

Jesus Mireles, 4, who was born early, visits a NICU unit on display in the lobby of Natividad Medical Center. The Mireles family of Marina attended the event on Sunday celebrating the unit’s 10th anniversary. (Photo: Jay Dunn/The Salinas Californian)

Dr. Gary Gray, chief executive officer of Natividad Medical Center in Salinas, cuts a ribbon on Sunday celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU.) (Photo: Jay Dunn/The Salinas Californian)