These are the “survivors” of premature birth. Children born too early often suffer developmental delays. Often, various therapies—for example, music or art programs, language therapies, Outward Bound expeditions—can help these kids. The Foundation will provide scholarships to families who qualify and want to take advantage of such programs.
These men and women are caregivers in the truest sense of the word. The more they are educated about their child’s needs, the greater the likelihood that their child will thrive. The Foundation will provide scholarships enabling parents to attend special conferences or symposiums, to buy literature, to visit out-of-town physicians to discuss experimental procedures, etc.
As in other areas of healthcare, the men and women who work with premature infants—RNs, Nurse Practitioners, etc.—must keep up with ongoing continuing education requirements. Many hospitals have been forced to cut funding that previously paid for these classes. The Foundation will support NICU professionals in pursuing the credentials they need to continue their important work.
The Foundation will fund research aimed at helping NICU healthcare professionals make better-informed decisions about controllable factors that determine the survival rate of premature infants. “Thanks to technology, babies like Ashleigh who would never have lasted an hour outside the womb now have a fighting chance,” says Gail Aldersea. “But science doesn’t have all the answers about how to care for such premature infants; in fact, we don’t even know all the questions. It’s our goal to fund more research, so that some future Ashleigh will be able to live a long and healthy life.”
