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Grateful Families Donate Time, Talents and Energy to Ensure Bright Futures for Premature Babies Annual Walk to Benefit Saint Barnabas Medical Center Reaches $2 Million Mark Livingston, NJ – In gratitude for the care their children received during stays in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, a group of families were inspired to begin the Miracle Walk. Since its inception, more than $2 million has been raised to support this highly specialized unit which provides the most advanced care for premature and ill newborns. Funds raised by the annual event are used to acquire the most technologically advanced items and equipment available – ensuring NICU babies at Saint Barnabas receive outstanding care and experience as little discomfort as possible. Equipment that has been purchased includes Giraffe Omnibeds, Ultrasound Transducers, NeoPuffs and Datascope Spectrum Monitors. “The Miracle Walk Committee has honored us with its generous contributions and an ongoing effort to support the NICU,” says Shyan Sun, M.D., Director of Neonatology at Saint Barnabas. “We are overwhelmed by the members’ kindness and commitment.” The walk itself was created by Jonathan and Hayley Hirschmann in appreciation of the care their daughter received during a three-month stay in the NICU. The Hirschmanns, joined by a group of parents whose children were also in the NICU, held the first walk in the Fall of 2001 as a way to give back to the institution that saved their babies’ lives. Having had children in the NICU for an average of 71 days, this special group of parents knew firsthand that maintaining 24-hour care – with highly trained professionals and the most sophisticated newborn intensive care technology – was only possible with the support of friends and neighbors in the community. “The staff at the NICU devoted themselves with skill, love and patience to our daughter and to all of the babies like her,” says Mrs. Hirschman. “We knew that we had to give back to the wonderful place and people that had saved our daughter’s life.” The results of the families’ determination are nothing short of miraculous. The number of participants and the amount of money raised has grown by leaps and bounds since Miracle Walk’s inception, having grown from 450 walkers in 2001 and raising $100,000 to more than 2,000 walkers in 2007 and raising $400,000. The committee’s original goal of raising $1 million in 10 years was accomplished in half that time and with the support of dedicated family, local businesses, friends, staff, and others, they have been able to raise over $2 million in seven years. The Eight Annual Miracle Walk will take place Sunday, October 5, 2008 at in Verona Park, Verona, NJ, to benefit the 56-bed NICU at Saint Barnabas. As a Level III Regional Perinatal Center, the highest designation attainable, the NICU treats more than 1,200 infants annually for prematurity, low birth weight, acute illness, and congenital disorders. The NICU has one of the best infant survival rates among neonatal intensive care units in New Jersey and the nation. For more information about Miracle Walk, call (973) 322-4259, email miraclewalk@sbhcs.com or visit www.miraclewalk.com. Date: March 4, 2008 Saint Barnabas Contact: Samantha Anton, 973-322-5425 [ top ] |
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