Pictured: Karime with her NICU baby Mateo and his older brother, Carlos

Karime Beckman joined ICU baby as a NICU Parent Mentor with our Meaningful Meals team in 2022. She shared her gentle, reassuring energy with NICU families that came to the dinners and lunches at both South Miami and Holtz Children’s hospitals. She then decided to join our bedside Parent Mentor Support team and has been a constant for families that are facing the uncertainty of daily life in the NICU and the overwhelming emotions that come with it.

Karime’s NICU experience began when her son Mateo was born at 39 weeks at Mercy Hospital and urgently transferred to Nicklaus Children’s hospital for surgery to treat hydronephrosis. Her time in the NICU worrying for Mateo’s health is something that she looks back on with a full heart. She faced the challenge of balancing a young child at home and one in the NICU and uncertainty that made each day feel like a week. In January, 15 years later, Karime ran the Miami Half-Marathon with her NICU baby, Mateo and his big brother Carlos. They trained together and were victorious!

On the heels of celebrating with her NICU baby, another opportunity came her way. ICU baby scaled its programming and added a position for a Meaningful Meal Coordinator. Because of Karime’s commitment to NICU families and ICU baby, she was asked to take the helm. Karime leads both the Cuisine and Craft lunches and Supper of Support dinners at South Miami and Holtz Children’s Hospitals. She also assists with the new NEST Lunch and Learn meals at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, Mt. Sinai Medical Center, and HCA Florida University Hospital.