KCA Charitable Trust donates $500,000 to Mother Baby Unit
The Katherine C. Anthony Charitable Trust has made a $500,000 donation to the development of CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs’ Mother Baby Unit, the hospital announced Tuesday.
The Mother Baby Unit will create a new model of care for mothers and their new babies, who will stay in the room with their mothers from the moment they are born, said a news release announcing the donation.
“This, along with a newly remodeled unit, will position the hospital system as a leader in the market by improving care provided to patients, as well as enhancing the functional and aesthetic appearance of this area,” the release said.
Tuesday’s announcement comes on the heels of an earlier announcement at the hospital’s Volunteer Celebration when the Volunteer Auxiliary presented Patrick McCruden, senior vice president for mission integration with a $50,000 check for the Mother Baby Unit.
“We’re so grateful for this generous donation by the Katherine C. Anthony Charitable Trust. As a longtime champion of the health ministry, Katherine generously supported the Hot Springs community through many health care initiatives including funding the creation of the Cooper-Anthony Child Advocacy Center. This gift will allow our ministry to adjust our model of care for mothers and their children in a way that has a lasting effect,” Tony Houston, president of CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs, said in the release.
Dr. Clint Henson, obstetrics/ gynecology physician, said the “benefits of this type of care model are numerous.”
“Keeping moms and babies together is so important that many professional organizations have made recommendations promoting ‘rooming in’ and opposing routine separation of mothers and babies after birth,” Henson said in the release.
“Rooming in,” the main model of care in the new Mother Baby unit, has numerous benefits, the hospital said, including the following: babies cry less and are easier to calm; mothers get more rest; the ability to respond to baby’s feeding cues; mothers make more breast milk, faster; the ability to ensure the care the mother desires for baby is delivered, including no pacifiers, bottles or tests; and increased bonding between mother and infant.