Ohio Hospitals Achieve Milestone in Placement of Infant Loss Cooling Units That Support Grieving Parents

COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ashlie's Embrace is pleased to announce that all Ohio hospital birthing departments have been offered a cooling unit to support families experiencing stillbirth or infant loss.  With a phenomenal placement rate (public records indicate all but one birthing department in the state now has a cooling unit), Ashlie's Embrace supplied the last location on its Ohio roster – Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus – with the device it supports, the CuddleCot. 

To learn more about Ashlie's Embrace and its mission that every U.S. hospital have a CuddleCot, please visit: http://www.ashliesembrace.org/our-story/ 

"We are certainly not the only organization that has placed a cooling unit in Ohio hospitals, and there are other devices in use besides the CuddleCot.  This truly has been a community effort.  I'm just so proud Ohio has reached this milestone, and we contributed by placing 53 CuddleCots in our home state," said Erin Maroon, who founded Ashlie's Embrace.

"We have now placed 118 total units in 27 states, and I hope to announce similar achievements in the future," continued Maroon. "This effort is by no means nearing completion."

The CuddleCot, and similar cooling devices, allows families additional time to say goodbye to their baby.  Having this available in a hospital provides parents and family the option to hold the baby, take photos, create cherished memories, and have more time to make final arrangements. 

Providing families time to say goodbye is internationally encouraged by midwives, bereavement practitioners, stillbirth/neonatal charities and academics and is also recognized in international position statements/guidance.

"We are so grateful to have the CuddleCots on our OB units here at Lake Health. The CuddleCots have allowed us to offer a sense of comfort to our families suffering an infant loss as they provide a respectful space to keep the infant at the patient bedside," said Jennifer DiGeronimo, RN, MSN, Nurse Manager - Obstetrics at Lake Health West Medical Center. "By allowing our families the time they need to grieve their loss as well as to spend cherished time with their baby, we are able to provide our bereaved families with cherished moments that they might not have had with traditional post-mortem practices.  The addition of the CuddleCots into our OB units has truly allowed us to care for our families in a more compassionate, loving and empathetic way."

To help support Ashlie's Embrace please visit:  http://www.ashliesembrace.org/donate/

Contact us: 

Erin Maroon
Ashlie's Embrace
(330) 418-4851
[email protected]

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ashliesembrace/

SOURCE Ashlie's Embrace