March of Dimes North Carolina Chapter Launch
North Carolina Children’s Hospital
Chapel Hill, NC
September 13, 2007
NICU Family Support
News Conference and Launch
Thursday, September 13, 2007
11:30 a.m.
North Carolina Women’s Hospital Lobby
Chapel Hill, NC
Speakers
Alan D. Stiles, M.D
Brewer Distinguished Professor and Chairman, UNC Department of Pediatrics,
Physician-in-Chief, North Carolina Children’s Hospital
Matthew P. Ayotte
March of Dimes Eastern Carolina Division Board Chair
Kathleen A. Veness-Meehan, M.D.
Medical Director, Newborn Critical Care Center
North Carolina Children’s Hospital
Judy Ward
Co-Chair, Family Advisory Board
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Anna Bess Brown, March of Dimes, 919-781-2481, abrown@marchofdimes.com
Stephanie Crayton, UNC Health Care, 919- 966-2860, scrayton@unch.unc.edu
MEDIA ALERT:
Families with Babies in Intensive Care to Benefit from New Project
March of Dimes Selects North Carolina Children’s Hospital; One of Only a Few Sites in
the Nation
WHEN:
Thursday, September 13, 2007, 11:30 am.
WHERE:
North Carolina Women’s Hospital Lobby, 101 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill
DIRECTIONS: The UNC medical center is located in the heart of Chapel Hill, on the south end
of the UNC-CH campus on Manning Drive. www.unchealthcare.org/site/aboutus/howtofindus
WHO:
North Carolina Children’s Hospital has been selected by the March of Dimes as the first site in
North Carolina to implement NICU Family Support®, which provides enhanced information and
comfort to families of premature and other critically ill newborns.
HOW:
The project is an important component of the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign, an
ongoing effort to address the growing crisis of premature birth, the leading killer of newborns.
In Chapel Hill, primary financial support is being provided by UNC Health Care.
WHY:
When families are preparing for a new baby, no one expects anything to go wrong. But every
year approximately 1 in 10 newborns is admitted to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
because they are born too soon, too small, or with a birth defect. In North Carolina, more than
16,000 are born prematurely, many require a NICU stay, some for hours and some for months.
The hospitalization of a baby in a NICU can be one of the most frightening, confusing and
overwhelming experiences a parent can have. March of Dimes NICU Family Support aims to
offer help and hope to families with a baby the NICU.
PHOTO:
Tour the NICU with opportunities to take photos of families and North Carolina Children’s
Hospital personnel.
Each year, more than 60,000 children from all 100 counties make over 200,000 visits to North Carolina Children's
Hospital. The hospital relocated to a state-of-the-art facility in 2002, and includes a comprehensive children's outpatient
center and 136 inpatient beds in a child-focused, family-friendly environment. It is the first children's hospital in North
Carolina to bring together complete inpatient and outpatient care in one location.
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by
preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of
research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies and in 2003 launched a campaign to address the
increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at marchofdimes.com or its
Spanish Web site at nacersano.org.
###
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Anna Bess Brown, March of Dimes, 919-781-2481, abrown@marchofdimes.com
Stephanie Crayton, UNC Health Care, 919- 966-2860, scrayton@unch.unc.edu
Families with Babies in Intensive Care to Benefit from New
Project
March of Dimes Selects North Carolina Children’s Hospital
(CHAPEL HILL, NC, SEPT. 13, 2007)—The March of Dimes today announced that it has named
North Carolina Children’s Hospital to implement NICU Family Support®. March of Dimes NICU
Family Support provides information and comfort to families of premature babies and other
critically ill newborns being cared for in a Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
“Preparing for a new baby is a time of great excitement,” said Kirk G. Warner, March of
Dimes North Carolina Chapter Board Chair. “Families don’t expect anything to go wrong, but
about 1 in 10 newborns wind up in a NICU because they are born too soon, too small or with a
birth defect. The experience can be overwhelming for families. NICU Family Support® aims to
make the journey through newborn intensive care smoother and less traumatic for families.”
The project is an important component of the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign, a
nationwide effort to address the growing problem of premature birth, which is the leading cause of
newborn death and a major cause of serious health problems. It costs society billions of dollars
every year. The March of Dimes is also funding research to find the causes of premature birth.
It is estimated that 10 percent of all newborns require some level of intensive care. In 2004
(the last year for which numbers are available), nearly 120,000 babies were born in North Carolina.
More than 16,000 were born prematurely, many stayed in a NICU, some for hours and some for
months. North Carolina Children’s Hospital admits about 700 newborns into the Newborn Critical
Care Center annually.
- MORE -
FAMILIES WITH BABIES IN INTENSIVE CARE/2
Nationally, March of Dimes NICU Family Support® receives multi-year funding from
MedImmune, Inc., Children’s Medical Ventures/Respironics, and Scholastic, Inc. Additional
support is provided by Dey, L.P. In Chapel Hill, primary financial support is also being provided by
UNC Health Care.
In 2004, NICU Family Support® became a signature project of the March of Dimes and
rolled out to additional NICUs across the country. At the end of 2006, there were 39 NICU Family
Support® sites nationwide. The project aims to be in at least 50 NICUs and to support over 35,000
families by 2007.
“The March of Dimes selected North Carolina Children’s Hospital as its partner for NICU
Family Support® because of its reputation for excellence and the quality care it provides to babies,”
Warner said. “North Carolina Children’s Hospital does incredible work every day to care for sick
babies and their families. We want to support their efforts.”
“We are excited to have been chosen as a March of Dimes NICU Family Support® site and
are looking forward to this collaborative effort to support parents throughout their stay with us,”
said Alan D. Stiles, M.D., Brewer Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of
Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Physician-in-Chief for the North
Carolina Children’s Hospital “This is a wonderful opportunity to work with graduate NICU parents
and staff to develop programs specific to the needs of our families.”
Incorporating NICU families into every level of the project, March of Dimes NICU Family
Support® addresses the needs of families throughout the hospitalization, during the transition
home, and in the event of a newborn death. NICU Family Support also includes a professional
development component to provide hospital NICU staff with support and educational opportunities.
The project is being led by a March of Dimes staff person who has experience as a NICU parent.
An advisory committee made up of graduate NICU parents and NICU professionals will be
involved in selecting activities and providing direct services to current NICU families. Each NICU
family will receive a March of Dimes Parent Care Kit including informational books and materials
to record their baby’s milestones.
- MORE -
FAMILIES WITH BABIES IN INTENSIVE CARE/3
Each year, more than 60,000 children from all 100 counties make over 200,000 visits to
North Carolina Children's Hospital. The hospital relocated to a state-of-the-art facility in 2002, and
includes a comprehensive children's outpatient center and 136 inpatient beds in a child-focused,
family-friendly environment. It is the first children's hospital in North Carolina to bring together
complete inpatient and outpatient care in one location.
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the
health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Founded in 1938,
the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to
save babies and in 2003 launched a campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For
more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at www.marchofdimes.com or its Spanish
Web site at www.nacersano.org.
###
Biographical Summary
Alan D. Stiles, MD
Dr. Stiles has served as the Brewer Distinguished Professor and Chairman of the Department
of Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Physician-in-Chief for the
North Carolina Children’s Hospital, a part of the UNC Health Care System since 2000. Dr.
Stiles received his undergraduate education at the University of North Carolina, and then
attended the UNC School of Medicine, graduating in 1978. He completed a residency in
Pediatrics at the North Carolina Memorial Hospital in 1981 and served as Chief Resident of
Pediatrics. Following residency, Dr. Stiles was a fellow in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at the
Joint Program in Neonatology, Harvard School of Medicine. He was appointed to the faculty of
the Department of Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina in 1986 in the Division of
Neonatal Perinatal Medicine. His basic science research interests focused on cellular
mechanisms of fetal lung growth and development. More recently he has focused his research
on children's health care quality and delivery, on issues with children's therapeutics and medical
devices, and access to care for children. He has served on numerous committees, boards, and
review panels at the local, state, and national level related to lung research and child health
issues. He currently is the PI for the UNC Centers for Education and Research in Therapeutics
(CERTs). This is one of eleven sites sponsored by the Agency of Healthcare Research and
Quality (AHRQ) nationally and the only CERTs focused on Pediatrics. He also serves as an ad
hoc consultant to FDA, NIH, and AHRQ for children's health care issues and has provided
input to the national Institute of Medicine in areas of children's healthcare quality
improvement, medical device use and monitoring, and therapeutics. He is on the Board of
Directors of the Community Care of North Carolina and the Board of AccessCare, Inc.
Biographical Summary
Matthew P. Ayotte
Matt Ayotte is the Director of Network Development for Coventry Health Care/WellPath of
N.C., Inc. He currently serves as Board Chair for the March of Dimes Eastern Carolina
Division. In addition, he is on the Family Advisory Board at N.C. Children’s Hospital and a
volunteer for the Triangle Healthcare Executives’ Forum.
Matt and his wife Tiana live in Chapel Hill with their daughter Asheton, who was born
prematurely at 25 weeks.
Biographical Summary
Kathleen A. Veness-Meehan, M.D.
Dr. Veness-Meehan has been on faculty at North Carolina Children’s Hospital since July 1990
and Medical Director of the Newborn Critical Care Center since July 2002. Born and raised in
Rochester, NY, she completed her medical training there prior to moving North Carolina. Since
becoming Medical Director of NCCC, Dr. Veness-Meehan has been working to improve family
centered care, patient safety and outcomes of babies born prematurely. Although for 12 years
she had a research lab and did research into oxygen- related lung injury in newborns, her
passion is patient care and family support. In January of 2006 she co-founded the UNC NCCC
Family Advisory Board and is currently co-chair with Judy Ward.
Biographical Summary
Judy Ward
Judy Ward is an Advertising and Marketing consultant. She currently serves as Co-Chair for
the Family Advisory Board at the UNC Newborn Critical Care Center and recently was asked
to serve on the board for N.C. Hospital Quality and Patient Safety.
Judy and her husband Pat live in Apex with their seven-year-old twin daughters Abigail and
Rachel.
National Office
1275 Mamaroneck Avenue
White Plains, New York 10605
Telephone (914) 428-7100
The March of Dimes
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency with chapters in
all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Its mission is to
improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth
and infant mortality. The March of Dimes accomplishes this with its
programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy.
The March of Dimes was established in 1938 by President Franklin D.
Roosevelt to save America’s youth from epidemic polio. The organization
funded the development of both the Salk and Sabin vaccines, which
eradicated polio from the United States and most of the world.
With the defeat of polio, the March of Dimes re-focused on the challenge of
saving babies from serious infant health problems. In 2003, the March of
Dimes launched a campaign to address the serious and growing problem of
premature birth, the leading cause of death in newborns. Babies who
survive often face lifelong disabilities such as cerebral palsy, mental
retardation, vision and hearing loss.
Over the years, March of Dimes support has led to breakthroughs that have
spared many babies from death or disability, including support for:
 Initiation of a regionalized system of hospital neonatal intensive care
units (NICUs) to treat sick and premature babies
 Surfactant therapy to save the lives of premature babies with immature
lungs
 Drug treatments to replace surgery for babies with a common heart
defect
 Treatment to help prevent severe newborn jaundice and resulting brain
damage
 Establishing the effectiveness of AZT treatment to prevent the
transmission of the AIDS virus from mothers to their babies
 Establishing nitric oxide as a treatment for critically ill premature babies
with dangerously high blood pressure in their lungs

Development of four newborn screening tests to identify treatable
conditions that can otherwise result in permanent brain damage or death
For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site
marchofdimes.com or its Spanish language Web site at nacersano.org.
# # # #
at
Facts about North Carolina Children’s Hospital
Serving Children from all 100 Counties in NC

The North Carolina Children’s Hospital is truly the state’s Children’s Hospital! Children from all
100 counties in North Carolina visit the facility for the most up-to-date health care possible. Our
goal is to offer this care in a child-focused, family-centered fashion.

Nearly 60,000 children visited the North Carolina Children’s Hospital for 200,000+ visits for
diagnosis and treatment in 2006. UNC offers a full range of pediatric specialty and subspecialty
care, including comprehensive intensive care, a Level-1 Trauma Center and the state-of-the-art
North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center.

The facility offers “one stop health care” for children and their families: all pediatric clinics are
housed under the same roof, and feature child-specific and child-friendly operating rooms and
treatment areas.

All private rooms are designed to feel as much like “home” as possible. They feature private
bathrooms with tubs and showers; laminated walls so children can display artwork, get-well cards
and photographs; and convertible sofas to accommodate parents or relatives spending the night.

The North Carolina Children’s Hospital has 136 patient beds. These include a 64-bed inpatient
unit, a 16-bed pediatric intensive care unit, an 8-bed children’s intermediate care center and a 48bed newborn critical care center.

UNC offers a state accredited Hospital School for children in grades K-12. The Hospital School,
with the generous support of an endowment provided by the Armfield family, provides teachers
and a full-time principal to help children keep up with their classroom studies during hospital
stays. The school also educates children who are inpatients in the neuroscience units.

Special features include the Robbie Page Play Atrium with a floor made from recycled tires and
designed to look and feel like an outdoor park complete with full wall park mural, the Jason
Clark Teen Lounge stocked with computers, a wide screen TV and video games, and a dazzling,
two-story continuous motion sculpture in the lobby.

More children have surgery at the North Carolina Children’s Hospital than anywhere else in the
state. A growing number of children from several surrounding states and from across the nation
now visit the hospital for cutting edge treatment.

Nationally and internationally renowned experts in the fields of cystic fibrosis, cancer care,
hemophilia, sickle-cell disease, infectious diseases, genetics, neonatology, child abuse,
endocrinology, bronchoscopy and congenital heart disease work at UNC Hospitals.

The Newborn Critical Care Center cares for more than 800 babies a year from all over the
Southeast. The unit also houses a parent resource center with computer access, a digital camera
and resources for families.
For more information, or to make a contribution to the North Carolina Children’s Hospital and
help provide the best quality healthcare for children in our state and beyond, please contact
Crystal Hinson Miller, Director of External Affairs, at 919.966.5812 or 800.962.2543.
NICU Family Support Site Fact Sheet
Site:
Newborn Critical Care Center
North Carolina Children’s Hospital
UNC Hospitals, UNC Chapel Hill
101 Manning Dr
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Hospital Demographics
The daily census in the NCCC is 44-48 babies. North Carolina Children’s Hospital is a teaching hospital that
provides the most complex level of neonatal intensive care. Medical care is provided by attending
neonatologists, fellows in Neonatal/Perinatal Medicine, neonatal nurse practitioners, pediatric residents and
medical students on educational rotations. Highly specialized neonatal care is provided by a dedicated staff of
nurses; social workers; dieticians; pharmacists; occupational, physical and speech therapists.
How many babies are delivered annually at the hospital?
Over 3,600 babies are delivered yearly.
How many babies are admitted annually to the NICU?
Approximately 700 infants are admitted annually to the NCCC.
What percentage of NICU admissions are premature/preterm babies?
Approximately two thirds of the patients admitted are premature.
Average length of stay for babies in the NICU
The average length of stay is approximately 30 days for all admitted infants.
Low birth weight infants < 1500 grams have a considerably longer hospital stay.
Number/percentage of infant mortalities per year in the hospital
The infant mortality rate of babies admitted to NCCC is approximately 4 %.
Number/percentage of babies transferred from other hospitals
Twenty-five percent of babies admitted to NCCC are transferred from other hospitals. Many of these babies
are premature; and many have cardiac, intestinal, respiratory or other problems requiring intensive care.
Mothers from over 50 counties in North Carolina have had their babies cared for in the NCCC at UNC.
Number/percentage of babies transferred to other hospitals
Approximately 45% of the babies cared for in NCCC are transferred to hospitals closer to home before
discharge.
Population served (geographic area, race, ethnicity, educational level, SES, teen parents, parents of
multiples, etc...)
North Carolina Children’s Hospital serves patients from a wide geographic area, including all of North
Carolina and southern Virginia. This includes a broad mix of socioeconomic groups. Approximately 50% of
our NCCC patients are Medicaid-eligible and approximately equal numbers of Caucasian, African American
and Hispanic patients are served.
NICU Staff Resources
NICU leadership
The following have responsibility for management of the Newborn Critical Care Center:
Department
Name
Neonatology
Neonatology
Nursing
Pediatrics
Nursing
Kate Veness-Meehan, M.D.
Medical Director, NCCC
Carl Bose, M.D.
Division Chief, Neonatal/Perinatal Medicine
Mauri Williams, RN, MBA, MHA
Unit Manager
Alan Stiles, M.D.
Chairman, Dept. of Pediatrics
Carolyn Viall, RN
Director, Women’s
and Children’s Nursing Services
Title
Direct day-to-day operational activities in NCCC are under the direct supervision of Mauri Williams and Dr.
Kate Veness-Meehan. Dr. Bose directs the nurse practitioner program.
NICU Needs
An important need of the North Carolina Children’s Hospital NCCC is the development of parent-toparent support. Emotional support from parents who have gone through the NICU experience is
invaluable to families who currently have a baby in NCCC. In addition, staff education, information for
staff and families and sibling support are critical needs.
Customized programs and services are based upon what graduate NICU families, staff and the
March of Dimes identify together.
North Carolina Children’s Hospital NCCC is interested in advancing its mission of providing familycentered support to our patients. In particular, we hope to enhance the emotional support provided to
families by developing opportunities for parent-to-parent support. This will involve parent-to-parent
matching, as well as other large-group opportunities for family members to speak with “NICU
graduates.”
In addition, we plan to provide more customized support opportunities for siblings, fathers, and families
who experience infant loss. These groups have unique needs with regard to emotional and informational
support, and it is the goal of North Carolina Children’s Hospital NCCC to provide this level of quality
care.
What North Carolina Children’s Hospital NCCC hopes to achieve through the implementation of
the March of Dimes NICU Family Support in 2007:
The North Carolina Children’s Hospital NCCC has an active parent support and neurodevelopmental
program. The hospital is interested in taking this to the “next level.” A program is currently in place; the
“essentials” are available and ready for further maturation to further enhance our family-centered care
program. Partnering with the March of Dimes to incorporate additional activities to further enhance parent
support has been embraced by all levels of the clinical and administrative leaders of North Carolina Children’s
Hospital NCCC. Support for this endeavor is very high and is poised for success.