Comfort & Support for NICU Families
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Summary
NICU Family Support provides educational materials and support to 5000+ families whose babies are struggling in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)
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Received $6,875 from 78 donations from people like:
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More Information About this Project
Project Needs and Beneficiaries
Many babies are born too soon or have life-threatening complications. Few parents are prepared for these unforeseen circumstances, leaving many questions unanswered. March of Dimes NICU Family Support programs, located in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, provides comfort and information with sensitive and engaging educational materials that introduce parents to the staff, equipment, procedures and conditions that they may encounter in the NICU setting.
Activities
Parent Care Kits, Bedside Reading program sponsored by Scholastic, Sibling Lending library, Transition to Home, Transport, Newborn Loss, Sibling Education Activities and Customized programs developed to service the speciflic needs of each NICU.
Funding Information
Total Funding Received to Date: $6,770
Remaining Goal to be Funded: $43,230
Total Funding Goal: $50,000
Additional Documentation
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
Resources
Why this Project is Important
Potential Long Term Impact
The overall NICU Family Support project will provide support and answers to almost 30,000 families this year better enabling them to deal with their baby's stay in the NICU and transition their baby to home.
Project Message
"I thank the March of Dimes from the bottom of my heart for NICU Family Support. It has helped parents of our babies to BE parents while the babies are still in the unit."
- Elayne McNamara, NICU Occupational Therapist, Shands Hospital
Who is Running This Project
Contact
Susan Clifford,
Director of Operations for NICU Initiatives
1275 Mamaroneck Avenue
White Plains, NY 10605
United States
9149974466
Email:
Project Sponsor
GlobalGiving
When this Project was Updated
Last Updated
This project was last updated on December 19, 2008.
Date Added to GlobalGiving
This project was added to the GlobalGiving project catalog on March 06, 2008.
Latest Update from the Field
Wyoming Youth Help with NICU Family Support
By Barbara Bruno - Project Coordinator, December 19, 2008 04:21 PM
There may be no NICU in Wyoming, but March of Dimes NICU Family Support is finding a meaningful way to support Wyoming families with sick and premature babies. Young volunteers recently helped fill March of Dimes backpacks with items needed by families, when their babies are transported to NICUs thousands of miles away for medical care.
Star-Tribune article: March of Dimes, hospitals prepare backpacks for families with premature infants
By ALLISON RUPP
Star-Tribune staff writer
The Wyoming Medical has flown four premature infants to neonatal intensive care units in Denver since the beginning of the year.
And its only Jan. 8, said Cheryl Graff, coordinator for women's services at the hospital.
Graff admitted while this is an unusually high number for just one week, the hospital still averages about 25 neonatal transfers a year.
No Wyoming hospital has a Level III neonatal unit, according to Graff. Babies who are born prematurely and need long-term, intense care must be transported out of the state for services.
Babies who weight less than 3 pounds are almost always sent to hospitals in other states, Graff said.
"It's terrifying," said Graff, who spoke from personal experience. About 25 years ago her son was born prematurely and had to be flown to Denver.
"Not only are you thinking about all the problems that come with having a premature baby, but then the baby has to go to a different hospital to get specialized care, and it's four hours away," she said. "I wasn't even sure if he would survive the flight."
The state's March of Dimes chapter has teamed up with the Wyoming Medical Center and other Wyoming hospitals to provide these families with some support.
Local 4-H members put together 250 family support backpacks Saturday to help a mother and family deal with a premature baby or baby with a birth defect, said Donna Langelier, director of program services.
These backpacks will be distributed to hospitals in Casper, Cheyenne, Gillette, Lander, Riverton and probably Rock Springs. The Wyoming Medical Center will receive their 25 bags sometime within the next week and the March of Dimes hopes to start programs at the other hospitals over the next year.
March of Dimes chapters across the country are stuffing navy blue backpacks to help mothers who deliver prematurely. They contain three educational booklets and two videos on what to expect with a premature baby.
There are lists of community resources, teddy bears and a baby blanket. Langelier said the mother wraps the blanket around herself allowing it to pick up her scent and then it is placed with the baby.
The Wyoming backpacks contain some additional items, though.
Because women, their families and their premature babies have to travel out-of-state, these backpacks contain various toiletries.
"The support person may not even have time to go back home to get these things," Graff said. "The family doesn't have to search for these things when they get there. They can focus on more important things like mom and the baby."
Wyoming mothers also get disposable cameras and phone cards, and the backpacks are designed to help parents get through the first 24 hours.
"It's to make sure these frightened, confused and overwhelmed parents know what's going on," Langelier said.
The information helps parents get through the first months with the baby. It links them to other state chapters of March of Dimes and helps them find resources when the family returns home to Wyoming.
With the backpacks, March of Dimes hopes to reach more babies in Wyoming, Langelier said.
Graff loved the idea of having a teddy bear in the backpack.
"The teddy bear I had was my lifeline to my son," Graf said. "I didn't let go of it until we got to Denver and I saw him."
Contact health reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp@trib.com.
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