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The BWH NICU Strollers last month raised more than $20,000 for the March of Dimes through its annual Walk America event, doubling the team’s fund-raising total from the year before. In total, the NICU’s leadership, by networking and recruiting other teams, helped raise about $35,000 to support the fight against premature births, birth defects and infant mortality.
The success of last year’s NICU Strollers inspired the formation of teams from Newton-Wellesley Hospital, North Shore Medical Center and Children’s Hospital, which combined to raise more than $5,000. Also, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.’s Walk America team, led by Jonathan White, a BWH clinical researcher in Pathology, raised more than $9,000.
The opportunity for NICU staff and alumni families to reconnect after months or even years was priceless!
“Several NICU and OB physicians, and more than a dozen nurses, respiratory therapists, developmental specialists and administrative staff were part of the team. Some brought parents and grandparents, children and even pets,” said Paul Hughes, department administrator for Newborn Medicine.
The Strollers were joined by approximately 40 BWH NICU graduate families, including one mother, who left both her hospital bed via wheelchair and her NICU baby, long enough to attend the NICU reunion and fundraiser. Staff and families enjoyed games, a barbecue and entertainment as part of the April 29 event. “It’s a special opportunity for our families to bond with our nurses, doctors and other members of their care team outside of the NICU environment,” Hughes said.
Before the walk, several members of the Alpha Phi Alpha team—students from MIT—toured the NICU with Steven Ringer, MD, PhD, chief of Newborn Medicine. “We were completely overwhelmed by both the science involved in the care of the preemies and the compassion displayed in the NICU by the nurses and physicians. It really strengthened our commitment to our mission of promoting male responsibility in the prevention of teen pregnancy and awareness of prematurity in teenage births,” White said.
The strong connection between BWH and the March of Dimes is realized by so many families, and the Walk America event is fast becoming a popular tradition as a way to give back.