November 26, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 26, 2013
For more information,
Contact: Jennifer Lawson
Moxley Carmichael
865-544-0088
[email protected]
[title]
Bank donates rocking chairs, funding in honor of National Prematurity Awareness Month
Home Federal Bank donated five red rocking chairs to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the University of Tennessee Medical Center Tuesday, along with $50,000 toward a project to make all rooms on the unit private. From left are, Dale Keasling, Home Federal Bank president; Debra Smith, Home Federal Bank vice president; Kim Massey, nurse manager of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at The University of Tennessee Medical Center, and Dr. John W. Lacey, III, chief medical officer at The University of Tennessee Medical Center.
Parents, babies and rocking chairs are a natural combination. Thanks to Home Federal Bank, its iconic red rocking chairs are now available to parents and premature babies in the care of the University of Tennessee Medical Center Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and a monetary donation will help ensure healthier babies for years to come.
The rocking chairs will be used in the NICU’s “rooming-in” rooms, where families stay overnight with their infant in a private room in preparation for taking their little one home for the first time.
“November is Prematurity Awareness Month, so this is the perfect opportunity to make an investment in the smallest members of our community,” said Home Federal Bank President Dale Keasling. “As Knoxville’s hometown bank, we are particularly glad to be part of that special time when parents and their newborns prepare to go home.”
Prematurity is defined as a birth that is three weeks or more before a baby’s due date, cutting short an important period of development. Prematurity is the leading cause of infant death. According to the March of Dimes, one in eight babies in Tennessee is born prematurely. Many premature babies require the advanced care capabilities of the NICU, and some may spend weeks or even months in the unit.
Along with a gift of five rocking chairs, the bank is also donating $50,000 over the next five years to support UT Medical Center’s campaign to provide private rooms for all NICU patients. Research shows that private rooms decrease risk of infection, lower stress levels and result in shorter hospital stays.
“In 2007, we completed our construction and renovation transforming half of the nursery from traditional open care bays to private rooms for each infant and family,” said Dr. Mark Gaylord, a neonatologist at UT Medical Center. “Since that time, we’ve seen babies treated in the private room environment heal faster, which means they get to go home sooner.
“We’re greatly appreciative of this significant investment from Home Federal Bank, which puts us closer to reaching our Phase II fundraising goal of $4.8 million to provide private rooms to all NICU patients.”
Mother Carrie Chadwick of Lenoir City said Home Federal Bank’s donation of the rockers meant that someone cared about the babies and mothers who spend days, weeks or even months at the NICU. Her son, Lincoln James, was born Oct. 21, about seven weeks before his due date, but is gaining weight and growing rapidly. She and husband Andrew Chadwick will enjoy rocking their son.
“I love a rocking chair,” Chadwick said. “I think they’re better for us mommies. It comforts the babies, and it’s comforting to know they’re comforted.”
About Home Federal Bank of Tennessee
Home Federal Bank of Tennessee is a locally owned, full-service bank serving East Tennesseans through branches in Knox, Anderson, Blount and Sevier counties. For more information, visit http://www.homefederalbanktn.com.
