LAKE SAINT LOUIS – February 1, 2010 – In keeping with the Kiwanis International Mission of “serving the children of the world,” the O’Fallon Kiwanis Club is helping the families of children born at SSM St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake Saint Louis.
On Thursday, January 28, club member Stacey Krieg presented a check for $2,000 to Ginger Beavers, director of The Family Birthplace at St. Joseph Hospital West. Beavers told club members that the hospital would like to buy better chairs for family members of newborns who have to spend time in the hospital’s Special Care Nursery. “The Special Care Nursery is a Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit,” she told club members. “That means that we care for infants born as early as 32 weeks gestation. And we encourage family members to visit those babies often. But it is a tight space, and we can’t have large chairs sitting around everywhere. So we would like to have some specially made chairs that are lovely and comfortable, but can also be folded up and stored when not in use.”
This is the second time that the O’Fallon Kiwanis Club has chosen to give money to The Family Birthplace at St. Joseph Hospital West. In 2008, the hospital was able to use another $2,000 donation to purchase a NeopuffTM Infant T-Piece Resuscitator. “This is a special machine that helps us to safely inflate a newborn’s lungs, when necessary,” Beavers explained. “We cannot thank the O’Fallon Kiwanis enough for the wonderful investment they are making in our newborns and in our community.”
SSM St. Joseph Hospital West delivers more babies each year than any other hospital in St. Charles County. O’Fallon Kiwanis Club President Don Schappe said that the club always tries to support organizations that help children, and that The Family Birthplace fits in with that mission perfectly,
If you are interested in joining the O’Fallon Kiwanis Club, it meets every Thursday at 11:45 a.m., at J.J’s Restaurant in O’Fallon. You can contact the club through its website, www.ofkiwanis.com.
About SSM St. Joseph Hospital West
SSM St. Joseph Hospital West is a state-designated Level III Trauma Center, accredited Chest Pain Center and Get with the Guidelines Stroke Center, twice named one of the 100 Top Hospitals™ in the country as designated by Thomson Reuters (formerly known as Solucient). Offering a broad range of exceptional services in a warm and welcoming environment, SSM St. Joseph Hospital West is a convenient resource, allowing local citizens to receive outstanding health care close to home in Western St. Charles, Warren and Lincoln counties. SSM St. Joseph Hospital West is a member of SSM Health Care, the first health care winner of the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award. For more information about SSM St. Joseph Hospital West, please visit www.ssmhealth.com/ssmsjhw.