Cuddle Cots bring comfort to families

The Caitlyn R. Pate Fund donated the cots to help grieving families deal with the loss of a baby.

ROME, N.Y. » To help grieving families spend as much time with their babies in the unfortunate event of a death, the Caitlyn R. Paté Fund has donated a Cuddle Cot to Rome Memorial Hospital’s Maternity Department.

ACuddle Cot is a cooling device that allows families the opportunity to grieve while spending as much time with their baby as they need after a loss.

“Losing a baby at any stage of the birthing process is a devastating event for the family,” said Kim Davis, RN, nurse manager of Rome Memorial Hospital’s Maternity Department. “This cot is a wonderful addition to our department because it gives parents and family members some additional time with the baby to gain some small amount of closure and begin their healing process.”

The Caitlyn R. Paté Fund was established in 2014 by Ben and Jackie Paté after their daughter Caitlyn Ralph Paté, was stillborn at 37 weeks gestation. Through their grief, they created a fund at the Lewis County Hospital Foundation as a way to honor Caitlyn. In addition to providing the Cuddle Cots, the fund supports families who have suffered the loss of a child through stillbirth, miscarriage or infant death up to one year old. The fund provides a bereavement care package which helps guide families through the difficult journey of losing a child. A Remembrance Walk is held each year to help the grieving families honor their child. Funds generated from this Walk also help sustain the Fund.

Rome Memorial Hospi- tal is the fourth recipient of a Cuddle Cot, following Lewis County GeneralHospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse, where Caitlyn was born, and Crouse Hospital in Syracuse.

Each cot costs $2,900, but their value to a grieving family is immeasurable. “Losing Caitlyn was a terrible day for all of us,” said Jackie Paté. “I remember being so upset when she had to be taken from our room and wishing that we could have just a little more time. These cots are specifically made with this purpose in mind and our mission is to provide one to as many hospitals as we can.”

For more information about the Caitlyn R. Paté fund, visit https://lchf.networkforgood.com/ or the Remembering Our Angels Facebook page at www. facebook.com/journeylikenoother/.

PHOTO COURTESY ROME MEMORIAL HOSPITAL Rome Memorial Hospital’s Maternity Department has received a Cuddle Cot from the Caitlyn R. Paté Fund to help families who have suffered the loss of a baby in the unfortunate event of a death. From left: Jackie Paté, founder of the Caitlyn R. Paté...