25th anniversary celebration brings joy for generations
Joy was had by all at the 25th anniversary celebration of Good Hope Hospital and Heartlands Hospital Neonatal Units on Sunday 3 September.
This year marks the 25th year since the opening of Heartlands Hospital’s Neonatal unit in Birmingham as well as the year that it began to work closely with the unit at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield. The Charity saw 400 people including staff from the units, parents and their children to celebrate the occasion.
The event saw funfair rides, bouncy castles and a ‘guess the name of the bear’ game, as well as photo montages of some of the children who had been on the unit as babies in the past 25 years. The highlight of the event was the donation of a Mercedes car courtesy of LSH Mercedes Birmingham to the nurses from the departments, the 400 invitees all flooded out to see the presentation of the car, bringing tears to the eyes of many.
Louise Milligan, Neonatal Nurse said “This car will make a huge difference to patients and families on the unit, currently if the babies don’t require an ambulance to be taken between the two hospitals, they have to wait for patient transport, which unfortunately can take a while, causing unnecessary stress for parents. Now families will be able to go between the units more easily, improving patient experience and allowing parents to spend more quality time with their new babies.”
Jo Powell, Neonatal Nurse Good Hope Hospital and Heartlands and said: “The day was a huge success, it was fantastic to be reunited with the babies, and their parents who I’ve cared for throughout my 25 years on the unit. It gives me a huge amount of satisfaction to see the children grow up and go on to begin their own lives, careers and even their own families. Many of the babies who are come to the neonatal unit are premature and can be very unwell, so as well as a celebration of those children who have grown up to be healthy young people, I think it is equally important to remember those who were less fortunate.”
Laura Power, Fundraising Manager at Good Hope Hospital explained: “As a hospital charity we are so happy to be able to put on these types of events to bring people together whose lives have been touched by Heartlands and Good Hope Hospital. Thank you to Aston Villa Football Club, Harry Jones Funfairs and of course LSH Mercedes Birmingham for making this event possible.”
