NCH Hosts Parents of Preemies Event
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (February 25, 2013) – Recognizing the courage and commitment of parents of premature babies, Northwest Community Hospital (NCH) is hosting a Parents of Preemies Day on Sunday, March 10, to bring awareness to premature births.
The free community event is scheduled from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at the NCH Auditorium, 800 W. Central Road, Arlington Heights. Parents of preemies, families, friends and medical professionals are encouraged to attend the event, which will feature exhibitors from preemie and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) support organizations. Neonatologist Dr. Joel Fisher, director of the NICU at NCH, will speak at 10:30 a.m. and conduct a question-and-answer session after his presentation. Registrations are now being accepted at http://ppdchicago.eventbrite.com/.
The NICU Parent Advisory Council at NCH is creating a lending closet of preemie-sized clothing and will be accepting clothing donations at the event. Brunch-style appetizers will be served and several child-friendly activities are scheduled. Mascots from the Chicago Wolves and Schaumburg Boomers will make an appearance and kids will be entertained with face painting, crafts and snacks. A free raffle drawing also is scheduled.
As part of the second annual Parents of Preemies Day, Graham's Foundation is hosting free local community outreach, support and awareness events for parents of preemies and their children and the general public. The event sponsored by NCH is hosted by local NICU support organization Eli's Hope. Each year, 13 million babies are born prematurely throughout the world. Medical breakthroughs continue to improve outcomes for preemies, but experts are only now beginning to understand the intense psychological effects that premature birth has on parents.
About Northwest Community Healthcare (NCH)
Serving Chicago's northwest suburbs since 1959, NCH is a comprehensive, patient-centered system of care that serves more than 350,000 outpatients each year, as well as nearly 30,000 inpatients treated annually at the 496-bed acute care hospital in Arlington Heights. The award-winning hospital holds the prestigious Magnet designation for nursing excellence, is designated as a Primary Stroke Center earned the Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval in 2011, and was awarded the Leapfrog Group's designation as one of the nation's Top Hospitals based on quality and safety criteria. NCH has four Immediate Care locations in the northwest suburbs and operates a FastCare Clinic in Palatine. NCH has a medical staff of more than 1,000 physicians, which includes the board-certified primary care doctors and specialists of the NCH Medical Group. For more information or to find a doctor on the NCH Medical staff, visit www.nch.org.
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