Baby Fair Onboard April 27

DERBY– Expectant parents, new parents and their families can get a good feel for the area’s maternity and child care resources from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sat., April 27 at Griffin Hospital’s Annual Baby Fair.

Held at The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital, 130 Division Street in Derby, this free event features more than 30 exhibitors, door prizes, tours of the Childbirth Center and information about the Center’s classes and support groups for before and after childbirth.

Griffin Hospital offers family-centered maternity care in an environment designed to best meet individual and family needs. The Center features private, family-friendly rooms, expert staff for maternal and newborn care, and lactation consultants. The Childbirth Center received the Baby-Friendly designation from the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), an international honor is given to hospitals that offer an optimal level of care for infant feeding and that help parents make informed choices about feeding and caring for their babies.

For more information about The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital, call 203-732-7252 or visit griffinhealth.org/cbc.

(This is a press release from Griffin Hospital)

Annabella’s Angels Donates CuddleCot to Griffin Hospital

DERBY - The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital in Derby will be able to give parents who have a stillbirth or later term miscarriage extra time with their child thanks to a CuddleCot donation.

 

Annabella's Angels, a non-profit that raises funds to donate a CuddleCots throughout the state, presented the Childbirth Center staff with the $3,000 device and a specially-designed bassinette on April 24.

 

The CuddleCot keeps the body of the departed child cool so parents can have time to be with their child, have family visit, take pictures, take hand molds and receive religious blessings.

 

“Infant death is a harsh reality we cannot prevent and we cannot always foresee,” said Annabella’s Angels President and Founder Jessica Ocasio. “When parents are forced to say goodbye so shortly after hello, every minute matters.”

 

Jessica Ocasio and her husband Matthew formed the non-profit in memory of their daughter Annabella Grace, who was delivered stillborn at 18 weeks. Annabella's Angels has placed CuddleCots in St. Mary's Hospital, Waterbury Hospital, Bristol Hospital, Hartford Hospital and Bridgeport Hospital.

 

“We are very thankful to Jessica, Matthew and everyone at Annabella’s Angels for this donation,” said Childbirth Center Clinical Director Marge Fischer, RNC, MSN, NEA-BC, C-EFM, “The CuddleCot gives parents the precious gift of time with their child and can be a wonderful help in healing spiritually.”

 

For more information about Annabella’s Angels, visit annabellasangels.com.

 

(This is a press release from Griffin Hospital)

Griffin's Books for Babies gets Big Boost

Michael Law, Senior Director, Customer Strategy and Planning at Edgewell Personal Care, second from left, recently presented a $5,000 donation to, from left, Margaret Fischer, RNC MSN NEA-BC C-EFM, clinical director of The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital, Griffin Hospital President and CEO Patrick Charmel, and Tricia O’Malley, director of The Griffin Hospital Development Fund, to support the Books for Babies program.

 

DERBY -  Edgewell Personal Care, of Shelton, recently made a generous $5,000 gift to support the Books for Babies program at The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital in Derby.

In addition to providing funds to purchase books for newborns, Edgewell also donated free sippy cups and feminine products.

 

“Edgewell is pleased to partner with Griffin Hospital to provide financial and product support to provide parents with the tools they need to get their children off to a good start,” said Michael Law, Senior Director, Customer Strategy and Planning at Edgewell and a member of Griffin Hospital’s Board of Directors.

 

The Books for Babies program provides a free children’s book to parents who have their baby at the Childbirth Center. A trained volunteer visits with parents to introduce the program and talk about the “how and why” of reading aloud to babies. Reading to babies builds a bond between parent and child, and stimulates brain development. Reading books opens doors to conversations and builds communication skills, language and literacy, as well as social and emotional skills.

 

About Edgewell

Edgewell is a leading producer of personal care products, including shaving preparations and systems, feminine care products and sun and skin care products.  The company has a broad global footprint and operates in more than 50 markets, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Japan and Australia with approximately 6,000 employees worldwide.

 

About The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital

The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital offers family-centered maternity care in an environment that will best meet individual and family needs. The Childbirth Center follows the patient-centered Planetree philosophy that focuses providing a warm, caring atmosphere for the patient and loved ones, including childbirth and child care education, and support groups. For more information, call 203-732-7252 or visit griffinhealth.org/childbirthcenter.

 

(This is a press release from Griffin Hospital)

Vendors Sought for Griffin Hospital Baby Fair

 

DERBY - The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital, 130 Division St., Derby, is inviting vendors to take part in its Annual Baby Fair set for Sat., April 29 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

 

Hundreds of expectant parents, new parents and their families attend the fair each year to get a good feel for the area’s maternity and child care resources and tour the Center.

 

Vendor registration is $25 for a table and a raffle prize donation. For more information, please email cbceducation@griffinhealth.org.

 

Griffin Hospital offers family-centered maternity care in an environment to best meet individual and family needs with private, family-friendly rooms, expert staff for maternal and newborn care, and lactation consultants. The Childbirth Center received the Baby-Friendly designation from the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). This international honor is given to hospitals that offer an optimal level of care for infant feeding and help parents make informed choices about feeding and caring for their babies. For more information about The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital, call 203-732-7252 or visit griffinhealth.org/cbc.

(This is a press release from Griffin Hospital)

Griffin Hospital in Derby plans baby fair

DERBY - Expectant parents, new parents and their families can get a good feel for the area’s maternity and child care resources from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  May 3 at Griffin Hospital’s 2014 Annual Baby Fair.

Held at The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital, 130 Division St., this free event features more than 40 exhibitors, door prizes, tours of the Childbirth Center and information about the Center’s classes and support groups for before and after childbirth.

Griffin Hospital offers family-centered maternity care in an environment to best meet individual and family needs with private, family-friendly rooms, expert staff for maternal and newborn care, and lactation consultants.

Attendees can register in advance by calling 203-732-7595 and be entered in a free raffle. Walk-ins are also welcome.

For information about The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital, call 203-732-7252 or visitgriffinhealth.org/cbc.


This is a press release from Griffin Hospital.

Griffin Hospital in Derby adopts Books for Babies program

DERBY - Each of the approximately 700 babies born annually at The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital now goes home with a new children’s book, thanks to a partnership between the hospital and the nonprofit organization Read to Grow.

Griffin Hospital recently became one of 12 Connecticut hospitals to adopt Read to Grow’s Books for Babies program. 

Statewide, Books for Babies reaches 53 percent of Connecticut newborns and their parents each year.

Parents of newborns also receive a literacy guide as part of this joint effort to foster children’s language and early literacy development, and to encourage reading aloud to babies from birth.

Recent research suggests that children should be exposed to a language-rich environment from birth, because it can significantly improve cognitive and language development and readiness for school.

A trained volunteer visits with parents to introduce the Read to Grow program and talk about the “how and why” of reading aloud to babies. 

The volunteers go through the literacy packet and encourage families to register for Books for Babies Follow Up, which will provide them with another new book and literacy information on their child’s three-month and 12-month birthdays.

Gently used books are also available for siblings of newborns to promote family reading time.

“We’re happy to partner with Read To Grow and help nurture a love for reading in the families in our community,” said Luanne Miller, director of the Childbirth Center.

"Read to Grow also provides gently used books to children across the state through its Books for Kids program.  Last year Books for Kids delivered more than 127,000 books into the hands of young children. “

Studies show that in low-income neighborhoods, children often have few if any books,” said Chet Brodnicki, interim executive director of Read to Grow. 

“The Valley Council reports that 10 percent of children residing in the Lower Naugatuck Valley live in poverty. Read to Grow is a resource for these families.”

Read to Grow

Read to Grow (www.readtogrow.org) works to improve early literacy for all Connecticut children. It is the only statewide nonprofit organization that connects with parents in the hospital setting and prepares them to take an active role in their child’s literacy development by reading aloud from birth. Read to Grow also provides free children’s books to families and to programs in communities that serve children of all ages.
Read to Grow’s programs currently reach 53 percent of the state's new babies and their parents, and distribute more than 147,000 children’s books across Connecticut.

About The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital

The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital offers family-centered maternity care in an environment that will best meet individual and family needs. The Childbirth Center follows the patient-centered Planetree philosophy that focuses providing a warm, caring atmosphere for the patient and loved ones, including childbirth and child care education, and support groups.

For more information, call 203.732.7252 or visit www.griffinhealth.org/childbirthcenter.

This is a press release from Griffin Hospital.

Baby fair planned at Griffin Hospital in Derby

DERBY - Expectant parents, new parents and their families can get a good feel for the area’s maternity and child care resources from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 27 at Griffin Hospital’s 2013 Annual Baby Fair.

Held at The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital, 130 Division St., this free event features more than 40 exhibitors, door prizes, tours of the Childbirth Center and information about the Center’s classes and support groups for before and after childbirth.

Griffin Hospital offers family-centered maternity care in an environment to best meet individual and family needs with private, family-friendly rooms, expert staff for maternal and newborn care, and lactation consultants.

Attendees can register in advance by calling 203-732-7595 and be entered in a free raffle.
Walk-ins are also welcome.
For information about The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital, call 203-732-7252 or visit griffinhealth.org/cbc.

This information is taken from a press release from Griffin Hospital.  

Perinatal software program now in use at Griffin Hospital in Derby

DERBY - The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital recently activated PeriGen’s PeriCALM® perinatal system, an advanced software program that supports OB/GYN clinicians in delivering optimal care for mothers and their babies at the bedside.

The PeriCALM suite includes two clinical decision support-based applications: PeriCALM Patterns™, a fetal heart rate pattern recognition software, and PeriCALM Curve™, a dynamic labor progression software.

“PeriGen takes the guesswork out of assessing fetal strips and supports informed communication and data sharing among our physicians and nurses,” said Childbirth Center Director Luanne Miller.
“It is a great tool that helps us continue delivering higher quality and safer patient care. For physicians and nurses, it’s especially helpful to have that second ‘pair of eyes’ to confirm the fetal heart rate patterns that they are viewing onscreen and that their knowledge-based treatment decisions are on the right track.”

Griffin Hospital is a 160-bed acute care community hospital serving more than 100,000 residents of the Lower Naugatuck Valley Region.
PeriCALM is the facility’s first electronic perinatal system.
“PeriGen’s PeriCALM was the obvious choice after a careful review of the market-ready OB information systems that we considered,” said Patrick Charmel, president and chief executive officer, Griffin Hospital.
“Our nurses and physicians were impressed by the system’s unique capabilities, both for real-time pattern recognition of fetal monitor tracings and as a tool to conduct retrospective patient care reviews. PeriCALM’s Patterns and Curve technologies will support the efforts of our clinicians at the bedside, provide remote access to fetal tracings for our obstetricians, and enhance the quality of care provided to our patients.”

The National Institutes of Health experts compared PeriCALM’s Patterns software to having an expert at the bedside continuously evaluate a baby’s fetal heart rate.
The results validated that clinicians can have the confidence to use the FDA-cleared PeriCALM Patterns technology to interpret the electronic fetal monitoring strip – the most subjective and highest risk task in delivering a baby.

The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital offers family-centered maternity care in an environment that will best meet individual and family needs. The Childbirth Center follows the patient-centered Planetree philosophy that focuses providing a warm, caring atmosphere for the patient and loved ones, including childbirth and child care education, and support groups.

For information, call 203-732-7252 or visit griffinhealth.org/cbc.