“In honor of those families sitting beside incubators watching monitors track their infant’s progress, I am visiting Neonatal Units across the state of Georgia,” Goggin says. “My desire is to visit with families, listen to their stories and share my experience-a story of hope, faith and miracles.”
The NICU is a special place in hospitals where preterm and critically ill infants receive around the clock care. Many families will spend months in the NICU waiting for their newborn to come home. These days and weeks are filled with uncertainty and fear but also hope that their child will recover and lead a normal life.
In addition to visiting with families, Goggin also leaves each baby with one of her Bundle of Joy gift bags.
“These bags are filled with love and useful items donated by volunteers in our community,” says Goggin.
Each bag contains: a fleece blanket, a new teddy bear donated by burton + BURTON in Athens, Precious Promises CD and devotional donated by First United Methodist Church in Athens, a handmade rag doll donated by K.T. Duds, letter from Sherri with suggestions of things she found helpful during her NICU experience, and March of Dimes brochures.
Memorial Health University Medical Center has been selected by the March of Dimes as the first site in Georgia to implement the NICU Family Support® program, which provides enhanced information and comfort to families of premature and other critically ill newborns. The project is an important component of the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign, a multi-year effort to address the growing crisis of premature birth, which is the leading cause of newborn death in America. In Savannah, financial support is also being provided by Memorial Health University Medical Center.
In an effort to raise awareness of this growing problem, the March of Dimes annual Prematurity Awareness Month is recognized throughout Georgia in November. With Georgia having one of the highest premature birth rates in the country with 342 babies born prematurely each week, the March of Dimes Georgia Chapter takes part by putting together activities and local events to raise awareness.
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies and in 2003 launched a campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. www.marchofdimes.com/georgia
