Donation drive for NICU families underway

TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) – The community can help families with newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), who often face long hospital stays.

North Mississippi Medical Center Women’s Hospital is collecting donations for its NICU Wee Care Room.

The room provides food, drinks, and personal care items for families whose newborns require extended stays in the hospital.

Organizers are asking for individually packaged snack crackers and chips, soft drinks and bottled water, ready-to-eat meals and microwaveable entrées, along with travel-size soap, shampoo, and other hygiene items.

One perinatal social worker said every donation can help provide comfort and support to families during a difficult and uncertain time.

“We have families with us for months at a time, so as you can imagine, the burden, financial burden of traveling back and forth to see their sweet babies but also having food to eat as they travel back and forth,” said Christy Whitley, a perinatal social worker at North Mississippi Medical Center. “The Wee Care Room is invaluable when it comes to meeting the basic human needs.”

Items can be dropped off at the NMMC Women’s Hospital front desk at any time. For more information, call (662) 377-4924 or (662) 377-4948.