Med Center Health awarded $2.5 million grant from Kosair for Kids for Womb to World Infant/Child Safety Program
Kosair for Kids announced Monday a $2.5 million grant to Med Center Health in support of a new Womb to World Infant and Child Safety Program designed to support the needs of our growing community, and its tiniest members.
Supported by Kosair for Kids, Med Center Health’s Womb to World Infant and Child Safety Program will provide a comprehensive continuum of care for pediatric patients and their families. The program will begin with prenatal education and extend through life-saving stabilization and brain protection in the NICU, safe feeding practices, developmental support, caregiver education, and child abuse and neglect prevention as families transition home.
Built on three integrated strategies—education and prevention services, specialized staff training, and investments in advanced technology and equipment—the program will help reduce preventable complications, improve developmental outcomes, and ensure high-risk infants receive consistent, high-quality care at every stage of their journey.
“Every day at Med Center Health, we see how important it is for families to have strong, specialized care close to home. As Warren County’s only provider of obstetrical services and home to the region’s only Level III NICU, we care for more than 3,000 babies each year, and we know that support has to start before birth and continue after families leave the hospital,” said Kim Dethridge, Director of Women’s Services at Med Center Health. “This grant will help us give more babies a safe, healthy start and help parents feel more prepared and supported.”
The grant announcement comes as Med Center Health prepares to open the High Street Tower at The Medical Center at Bowling Green in August. The $120 million, five-story patient care tower will become the new home of Women & Children’s Services, bringing together labor and delivery, the mother-baby unit, the Obstetrics Emergency Department (OBED), and the Level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) under one roof.
The new Womb to World Infant and Child Safety Program will complement these expanded services by enhancing the continuum of care for mothers, infants, and children from pregnancy through early childhood.
“At Med Center Health, we are committed to providing exceptional care for every child from the very beginning of life. We are incredibly grateful to Kosair for Kids for this transformative investment, which will help us strengthen the care we provide to our region’s youngest patients and their families. Combined with the opening of our new High Street Tower, this partnership reflects our shared commitment to giving every baby the safest possible start and supporting families every step of the way,” said Connie Smith, President and CEO of Med Center Health.
“In 1923, Kosair for Kids vowed to partner with all organizations interested in helping children live life to the fullest,” explained Barry Dunn, Kosair for Kids President and CEO. “This funding is a continuation of that solemn vow, and with it, generations of children will receive a healthy start at a world-class NICU, parents will be educated on caring for their children, and kids will be safer from abuse and neglect. We are grateful for our partners at Med Center Health and for the bright future for area children.”
