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For Immediate Release
February 19, 2007
Greg Gumbel Celebrates NICU Partnership
Oklahoma City — Thanks to the March of Dimes,
Mercy Health Center is the only hospital in the state with a family
support specialist on hand for families with very sick babies. To kick
off the partnership, Greg Gumbel, an Emmy Award winning sportscaster and
longtime March of Dimes national board member, will visit Mercy
Wednesday and see firsthand why such support is so critical to a
neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
At 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Gumbel will speak to an NICU
family and see how Kangaroo Care, or skin-to-skin contact, as well as
other hands-on care by parents makes a difference for both the families
and the babies.
“When you have a baby that needs critical care,
everyone is focused on making sure this new little life thrives,” said
Melissa Middleton, Mercy’s March of Dimes NICU family support specialist
and the mother of premature quadruplets, three of which survived and are
3 1/2 years old today. “It’s one of the most frightening and
overwhelming experiences a parent can have. You find yourself in a place
you never dreamed of, and you are unprepared at every turn.”
That’s why Middleton’s role is key for families of
Mercy NICU babies. By providing both information and comfort, parents
have an outlet, as well as a place to get questions answered while
doctors and nurses work around the clock to care for their babies.
Middleton addresses the needs of NICU families
throughout hospitalization, during the transition home and in the event
of a newborn death. She also provides support group opportunities for
families.
Nationally, one in 10 newborns is admitted to an
NICU. In Oklahoma, the incidence is even higher at one in eight.
Premature births are the number one cause of newborn death. While
decades of research have been dedicated to premature death, scientists
have not yet discovered how to prevent prematurity.
“March of Dimes has been dedicated to the health of
children for almost 70 years,” said Belinda Rogers, director of program
services for March of Dimes. “Nationally, March of Dimes has provided
family support specialists in other hospitals across the nation. We
chose Mercy to be the first in Oklahoma because they have long provided
family-centered care to babies and their families. As soon as possible,
they involve parents in the care of their own babies because research
has shown it helps both babies and parents.”
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