Sponsors and committee members of the 28th annual Magnolia Ball gathered at the Carrollton home of Mr. and Mrs. Tommy Green on Jan. 25 and learned that the fundraising gala would benefit a new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton.
The new NICU will serve the community’s tiniest and most vulnerable patients, including premature babies and infants with serious medical conditions. Without local access to NICU care, these patients endure the risks of being transported to hospitals as far away as Rome, Columbus or downtown Atlanta.
Three local mothers shared their stories about why local access to NICU care is vital.
Laura Lenaeus, mother of twins who spent five months in an Atlanta NICU, said that there couldn’t be a cause more dear to her heart.
“I am acutely aware of the strain, the stress, the toll that being a NICU parent takes,” she said. The length of the NICU stay and the distance from home added to her family’s struggle.
Distance also contributed to Barbara Paul’s stress when her newborn daughter was treated in an Atlanta NICU for two months after being born prematurely.
“I drove 110 miles every day, leaving my two year old daughter behind here in Carrollton,” Paul said. “I just don’t want anyone else to have to deal with that.”
Jennifer George credited the medical staff of Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton with keeping her sons out of a NICU after complications following their births.
“By God’s grace and the quick, decisive actions of the doctors and nurses at Tanner, both of my sons are happy and healthy today,” said George.
“Great health care is a team effort,” said Tanner Health System President and CEO Loy Howard, as he invited Deborah Matthews, chief nursing officer for Tanner, to stand with him. “A neonatal intensive care unit is something very special. We will need great neonatologists, but we are also going to need great nurses and a great nursing staff. It’s going to truly be a team effort to deliver this level of service at Tanner Health System.”
Howard noted the community’s significance to the team effort.
“The key ingredient to successful community hospitals is community support,” said Howard. “It is the community turning out like they are tonight. It is the belief that medical facilities, along with educational facilities, makes a truly great community. We take this as a great honor that you are here every year. The volunteers are the greatest asset of the Magnolia Ball, so we want to thank you.”
Tanner Medical Foundation board members Wanda Calhoun and Susan Fleck described how the 2018 ball will, in many ways, reflect earlier times of the esteemed event.
Fleck mentioned a return to paper bid sheets instead of bidding with by phone, a change in the number of seats at each table, and a focus on the new NICU rather than on a theme.
“But rest assured, every one of these changes is being made to help make the ball a special experience for a very worthy cause,” said Calhoun.
Co-chairs of the 28th Annual Magnolia Ball, Katie Gambrell and Julie Weber, announced the title of this year’s ball as "An Evening Celebrating Our Future," centering the ball on the NICU fundraising project.
Gambrell and Weber thanked the 2018 vice-chairs, Melina Douthit, Mandy Jackson, Lindsay Jennings and Laura Lenaeus, as well as all of the Magnolia Ball committee members.
Fleck then announced William Rogers, MD, and Rhonda Rogers, MD, as honorary chairs of the 2018 gala. Each year, the Tanner Medical Foundation Board of Directors selects an individual or couple who have had a significant impact on Tanner, Tanner Medical Foundation and the community, to serve as honorary chairs of the Magnolia Ball.
“It’s quite an honor for us and we’re glad to serve,” said Dr. William Rogers. “We’re glad to be part of this next phase of the neonatal intensive care.”
“We have raised four children here and we are expecting our sixth grandbaby this summer,” said Dr. Rhonda Rogers. “We have had one grandchild in the NICU in Atlanta, so this is an honor. We feel very special. This is a worthy cause, these precious babies, so be generous, donate and let’s have fun with it.”
For 27 years, Tanner Medical Foundation’s Magnolia Ball supporters have helped the hospital build new facilities, acquire advanced technology, create innovative programs and earn national recognition. In describing her passion for this year’s Magnolia Ball fundraising project, Lenaeus noted that having a locally accessible NICU was not simply about ease for parents, but about improved results for babies.
“I know the more involved parents are in the care of neonates, the better the outcomes are for those babies,” Lenaeus said. There is a growing body of research showing that when parents are very involved with their infant’s care during a NICU stay, the length of hospital stay can decrease, hospital readmission can decrease and outcomes such as weight gain improve. So it’s not just a matter of convenience, it really is going to improve outcomes for babies in this community, and I could not be more proud about the Tanner NICU Fund.”
For more information regarding sponsorships, donations or other ways to support the Tanner NICU Fund, please contact Tanner Medical Foundation at 770.812.GIFT (4438).