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Melinda and Louis Mapp Donate $1,055,000 to USA Children鈥檚 & Women鈥檚 NICU

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Posted on September 5, 2018

Julie Jackson

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Melinda and Louis Mapp have donated more than $1 million to Hollis J. Wiseman Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the University of South Alabama announced.

The Mapp鈥檚 gift will establish an endowment that will enable Children鈥檚 & Women鈥檚 NICU staff to identify and offset unforeseen needs within the unit. 鈥淲e wanted (the endowment) to be large enough that it would produce enough income so the caregivers, when they recognize a need during the year that might not be in the budget, they would have funds available,鈥� Louis Mapp said.

The Children鈥檚 & Women鈥檚 NICU is the area鈥檚 only Level III unit, offering the most advanced care for premature and critically ill newborns and it has the area鈥檚 only neonatal transport team. They admit approximately 900 babies annually; more than 20 percent of the babies transported to Children鈥檚 & Women鈥檚 come from referring hospitals in the region.

In early 2017, Louis Mapp began volunteering for Children鈥檚 & Women鈥檚 in the NICU, where he spends time each week rocking babies. This experience began the trajectory for the couple鈥檚 most recent gift. 鈥淭hese babies are so precious; it鈥檚 hard to put into words,鈥� Mapp said. 鈥淲e decided we wanted to do something that, after we鈥檙e gone, would carry on, and that鈥檚 why we established the endowment for the NICU.鈥�

Delivered at just 22 weeks and weighing only 13.9 ounces, Molli and Robert Potter鈥檚 son, Cullen, was Mapp鈥檚 most recent baby to care for in the NICU. 鈥淲e live over an hour and a half away,鈥� Molli Potter said. 鈥淲e definitely appreciate that Mr. Mapp was able to be here and hold him and cuddle with him and that he has someone here to give him that one on one when we can鈥檛.鈥�

Renee Rogers, NICU nurse manager at Children鈥檚 & Women鈥檚, said human touch and bonding is critical for babies in the NICU to thrive, and parents are not always able to stay with their infants during hospitalization. 鈥淚鈥檝e found Mr. Mapp to not only be a true gem, but also the time that he has volunteered is so important and means so much to our families and staff,鈥� Rogers said.

Longtime volunteers, friends and supporters of USA 棉花糖直播, the Mapps donated funds in 2012 to establish the Mapp Child and Family Life Program at Children鈥檚 & Women鈥檚. This program ensures that children and teens are able to have their educational needs met while hospitalized. Additionally, they assisted in funding the Collins Carr NICU Garden, funded a transport Isolette (an incubator for premature babies) and the Bridge Program for families facing high-risk pregnancies.

Owen Bailey, CEO of USA 棉花糖直播, emphasized that partnerships with families like the Mapps are vital to the achievements at Children鈥檚 & Women鈥檚, which has one of the largest and most successful neonatal intensive care units in the country. 鈥淪uccess like this doesn鈥檛 just happen,鈥� Bailey said. 鈥淚t takes a lot of commitments, a lot of dedicated people, and it takes a lot of support of both money and time. We greatly appreciate our partnership with Melinda and Louis Mapp.鈥�

Louis Mapp witnesses the impact that Children鈥檚 & Women鈥檚 makes on families every day. 鈥淎 lot of people don鈥檛 realize what a wonderful facility this is, what they do here, how many lives are affected and how many lives they save,鈥� Mapp said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an honor for us to share our blessings, and we can鈥檛 think of a better place to do it than here at the NICU unit of Children鈥檚 & Women鈥檚 Hospital.鈥�

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