5 honored for care given to grieving family

NEW HAVEN — Five members of the neonatal intensive care unit at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital who cared for a grieving family after the death of their newborn son will receive this year’s Compassionate Care Award from the group Hope After Loss.

Hope After Loss offers support to families who have suffered the loss of a pregnancy or a newborn.

Angela Hackett nominated the team for their care and support after her baby Colin died five months after his birth. “The medical community should be proud to have them as well as the many, many other wonderful caretakers we had the pleasure of meeting,” Hackett said in a news release. “I am proud to call them our friends and family. This village gives compassion its meaning.”

The honorees are registered nurses Charlene Cannon, Ana Carneiro and Marianna Erenhouse and Dr. Steven Peterec, all of Yale New Haven, and Dr. Dina Barnaby of Women’s Obstetrics and Gynecology in Trumbull.

Colin spent 155 days in the NICU and, Hackett said, “They always used the word ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ when talking about Colin coming home.” The entire team was present when Colin died and continues to check in with the family.

“Colin did something in his very short life that some people never get a chance to do. He brought people together and showed us that there is still kindness in the world,” Hackett said in the release.

“The story (Hackett) told is really compelling and really highlighted the amount of care that this group provided,” said Christina Mailhos, executive director of Hope After Loss.

“It just highlights the need for such an organization. Not a lot of people know about it, and honestly people don’t want to know about it because it’s one of those clubs you don’t want to be a part of,” she said.

The Compassionate Care Awards will be presented at Hope After Loss’ International Wine and Craft Beer Tasting at 6 p.m. on June 21 at Woodwinds, 29 School Ground Rd., Branford.

The event will include a buffet dinner, craft beer and wine tasting and silent auction. It will benefit Hope After Loss’ peer-to-peer support groups, its burial-assistance program and educational outreach programs.

Tickets, at $75, can be purchased at www.hopeafterloss.org. Donations are also accepted. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.