Griffin Hospital donates $5k to support TEAM Diaper Bank

DERBY >> TEAM Inc. announces that Griffin Hospital presented the agency with a $5,000 donation in support of TEAM Diaper Bank serving more than 354 families residing in Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour, and Shelton of which, 96 percent were at or below 200 percent of federal poverty level.

From left to right: TEAM President/CEO David Morgan,
Griffin Childbirth Center Director Luanne Miller R.N.,
TEAM FRC Manager Ayanna Williams,
Griffin Hospital CEO/President Pat Charmel,
TEAM CFO Wendy Rodorigo,
TEAM Board Member David Rabinove,
TEAM Executive VP Diane Stroman. 
(Contributed by Fred Ortoli Photography)

The TEAM Diaper Bank provides diapers and wipes to income eligible families with children under 4 years of age.  In 2012, Griffin Hospital received an official designation as “Baby-Friendly®” from Baby-Friendly USA for its commitment to providing newborns a best start to a healthy life. This year, under the leadership of CEO/President Pat Charmel, Griffin Hospital continued its baby-friendly ways with the $5,000 donation to the TEAM Diaper Bank.

Griffin Hospital also gave TEAM access to purchase diapers and wipes through Griffin’s national distributors at wholesale rates. This partnership significantly cuts costs, enabling TEAM to purchase more diapers and wipes with the same amount of money.

“When Griffin Hospital heard that TEAM’s  Diaper Bank didn’t have an adequate supply of diapers to meet the needs of the growing number of low income families who couldn’t afford to buy diapers for their infant or toddler, we felt compelled to act,” said Patrick Charmel, Griffin President and CEO. “We knew that in addition to making a monetary donation to address the immediate need, we had to find a way to help TEAM make the limited financial resources available to support the Diaper Bank go further. By taking advantage of the hospital’s considerable buying power we were able to do just that. Griffin Hospital is extremely grateful to TEAM for establishing and operating the Diaper Bank, which is a very important resource that has a positive impact on the health and well-being of children and families in our community.”

Despite being a necessity for babies, diapers are not covered by WIC, SNAP (food stamps), Medicare, or other programs. With a typical infant using 10-12 diapers per day, and toddlers using up to 8, a baby in a low-income family may spend the entire day in a single soiled diaper, leading to rashes, infections, and other health problems. According to statistics cited by experts, in Connecticut, mothers spend at least $20 to $30 per week for diapers, a cost that causes too many moms to make trade-offs that can endanger children's health. Parents who can’t afford diapers also can’t leave their child in daycare to go to work, leading to economic instability and continuing the cycle of poverty.

“I often say in our work at TEAM that it requires a strong community alliance to turn the corner in addressing the complex needs of those struggling for a level quality of life, and Griffin Hospital’s support is an exemplar of such efforts to help others,” said David Morgan TEAM President and CEO. “Diaper-need is not only a significant household budgeting constraint but recent research also clearly links the potential impacts of diaper-need to health & wellbeing and maternal depression,” David adds, “and we are ever grateful to Pat Charmel and Griffin Hospital for this exceptional support and collaboration.”

This is a press release from TEAM Inc.