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Hawaii Chapter in partnership with Kapiolani Medical Center For Women & Children operates NICU Family Support Project
The March of Dimes is helping to alleviate the emotional distress and confusion so common to families whose baby is born early or with another medical condition. Built upon a family-centered philosophy and incorporating NICU families into every level of the project, NICU Family Support is being rolled out through March of Dimes chapters nationwide. The service will be offered in more than 50 NICUs by 2007.
Serving the mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents and extended family of newborns admitted to the NICU, NICU Family Support addresses the needs of families throughout the hospitalization, during the transition home, and in the event of a newborn death.
NICU Family Support has multiple components that make it unique: A part-time March of Dimes NICU Support Specialist with professional NICU experience A volunteer parent-professional action committee guiding program selection, development and implementation A base of March of Dimes volunteers providing parent-to-parent support to families within the NICU setting Sensitive and engaging educational materials that introduce parents to the staff, equipment, procedures, and conditions that they may encounter in the NICU Customized programs to serve the needs of the specific NICUs and the populations they support
NICU Family Support information and resources are available to all families through the March of Dimes national website - www.marchofdimes.com .
NICU Family Support at Kapiolani Medical Center For Women & Children
Kapiolani Medical Center, currently hosting this program, is a level III Perinatal Center, providing the highest level of care. The March of Dimes, with partial funding from HMSA Foundation have committed funds to initiate this project which began in 2005.
For more information, contact Rosemary Fox, NICU Support Specialist, at 808-983-8894 / 808-973-2155 or rosemary.fox@kapiolani.org .
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