Donation funds renovation of Novant Health Hemby NICU waiting room

Families with infants in the Hemby Neonatal Intensive Care Unit will have a private place of respite

December 17, 2013 – A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on Dec. 10 to celebrate the grand opening of Tucker’s Room – the newly renovated waiting room for families with infants in the Novant Health Hemby Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). A $100,000 donation from Speedway Children’s Charities funded the renovation, as well as three isolettes for the NICU. Families with infants in the NICU are facing difficult situations and need a private area where they can retreat.

Speedway Children’s Charities made the donation in honor of Tucker Hucks, who spent five months in the NICU after being born at 24 weeks in 2012. “It’s hard to be [in the same room] with balloons and lullabies when your baby is fighting for his life,” said Heather Hucks, Tucker’s mother and an advocate for NICU families. Tucker has since made a remarkable recovery, and Heather, who is a part of the Novant Health NICU Family Advisory Council, now helps support other families who are going through a similar experience.

“As we left five months after our stay, we were hopeful that at some point down the road there could be a space for parents, because moms and dads in the NICU need a place…where they can go and pray for their baby; they need a place where they can go and make very hard decisions about the care of their baby,” said Hucks.
The new NICU waiting room has a private entrance and features comfortable furniture, a kitchenette and a spectacular view of uptown Charlotte. “We want to make sure that this gift will revolutionize the experience for our families,” said Harry Smith, senior vice president and president of Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center and the Greater Charlotte Market.

SOURCE: Novant Health