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 follows the recent opening of the High Street Tower at
The Medical Center at Bowling Green. 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 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.”