Poudre Valley Hospital (PVH) and Medical Center of the Rockies (MCR) Foundation has launched a new initiative to benefit the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) fund at PVH. The NICU fund offers resources to families receiving care in the NICU, providing assistance with hotel, food, and other unexpected expenses that parents may encounter when a newborn is staying at PVH.
Those who give to the fund at certain levels will be offered a piece of Fort Collins’ history. A limited number of bricks from the demolition of the A Building on the PVH campus will be made available by the foundation. Part of the original hospital built in 1925, the A Building will be razed on May 26 to make room for a new two-story building that will house an emergency department, orthopedic wing, laboratory and a helicopter pad on the roof for quick transport of trauma patients.
“We saw the brick campaign as an opportunity to connect the hospital’s past with its future,” explained Erica Siemers, senior director of the PVH and MCR Foundation. “The original, 90 year-old hospital is where a lot of Fort Collins residents entered the world – including our hospitals’ own President and CEO Kevin Unger. We wanted to give people an opportunity to own a piece of PVH history while supporting the future of some of the most vulnerable members of our community whose first days and weeks of life are a struggle.”
The funds collected by the campaign will provide much needed support to families during the difficult time when a newborn is receiving care in the NICU. For parents like Emily and Corry Petersen, whose twins Nora and Lily were delivered prematurely and spent 102 days in the NICU, the fund means more than just the financial assistance it offers – it will help to make a stressful time more bearable.
“For families like ours, who spend the days, weeks, and months of that sacred newborn baby time in the NICU, joy can be fleeting,” said Emily. “It doesn’t take much, but giving families the opportunity to create joyous memories and spend as much time as possible with their newborn – even while at the NICU – is one of the greatest gifts one could ever give.”
The historical bricks in recognition of gifts to the NICU fund are available at the following levels while supplies last:
- $1,000 – These bricks may be personalized with the name of the donor (up to three lines). Donors may keep the brick or allow the brick to be featured as part of the walking path at the Gardens at PVH.
- $250 – These bricks cannot be personalized, but will be stamped with the PVH mark and the inscription, “PVH since 1925.”
Those interested in learning more about supporting the fund and securing a piece of Fort Collins past and future should contact Rebecca Bowen at (970) 237-7400 or [email protected] to make a gift and reserve a brick today.
About PVH and MCR Foundation:
The mission of the Poudre Valley Hospital and Medical Center of the Rockies Foundation is to support its affiliated hospitals and clinics in the delivery and advancement of world-class health care in northern Colorado. The foundation realizes its mission through the development and stewardship of philanthropic resources in support of the hospitals’ mission and strategic goals.