Newberg Public Library: Children's Grief Kit

The fund donated $250 to the Newberg Public Library for the purchase of grief and loss resources specifically for children. Now completed and available for checkout from the children's section, the grief tote includes books, CDs, DVDs and a cuddly teddy bear. The materials cover the concepts of death and grief, including sibling loss and pet loss. The materials are for preschool through elementary school age children; older children and parents will also find the materials helpful. Thank you to Mary Lynn Thomas of Newberg Public Library for working with us to select appropriate materials and for her warm and thoughtful work on this project.

Books
Tear Soup by Pat Schwiebert and Chuck DeKlyen
When Dinosaurs Die by Laurie Krasny and Marc Brown
I Miss You by Pat Thomas
When I Feel Sad by Cornelia Maude Spelman
The Next Place by Warren Hanson
Mommy, Please Don't Cry by Linda DeYmaz
We Were Gonna Have a Baby, but We Had an Angel Instead by Pat Schwiebert
A Butterfly for Brittany, illustrations by Christine Thomas
Gentle Willow by Joyce C. Mills
Going to the Hospital: an Usborne First Experience by Anne Civardi
Saying Goodbye to Lulu by Corinne Demas
Up in Heaven by Emma Chichester Clark
35 Ways to Help a Grieving Child by The Dougy Center (for parents)

CDs
Guess How Much I Love You (with board book of the same name)
Miracle by Celine Dion
Guitar Lullaby by Ricardo Cobo

DVD
Tear Soup

VHS
Tear Soup

Fundraising Sale: A Big Success

A "parking lot" sale fundraiser to benefit the Nora Madelyn Fund held in August 2007 raised nearly $2,700!

Thank you to Lecia New RN, perinatal loss coordinator at Providence Newberg Medical Center, who organized this very successful event. Thank you to Chumly's Shaved Ice (Roger and Cathy Patocka) as well as Coyote Joe's and Naps for their generous donations. Thanks also to Providence Newberg Medical Center administration, engineering and public relations, the Providence Newberg Health Foundation, and The Birth Center for their generous support. Thank you to those who donated items for sale, and a BIG thank you to those who gave of their time and energy to volunteer at the sale, as well as those who donated tables and other supplies. Without you, this event would not have been such a big success. Thank you also to those who made monetary donations.

The money raised will allow the Nora's Fund to continue to help not only the medical professionals who care for bereaved parents and their babies, but the families themselves, as well as to continue to raise awareness of pregnancy and infant loss and to support local groups who work with these families, such as Brief Encounters.

On behalf of Nora's family, thank you all again. We are blessed to have so many wonderful, caring, and generous family and friends.

Butterfly Pins

Glass butterfly pins are available for sale in the Providence Newberg Medical Center gift shop. Proceeds benefit the Nora Madelyn Fund. The pins are $25 each.

Designed by Greg Lewis of Greg Lewis Studio, they are available in a variety of unique and beautiful colors. Mr. Lewis designed the butterfly sculpture memorial for the healing garden and has graciously donated his design work to this fundraising project.

Education for Medical Center Staff

A founding goal of the Nora Madelyn Fund is to provide funding for perinatal loss education for care providers and Providence Newberg Medical Center staff. To further serve that mission, the fund allocated resources for two Birth Center nurses, including the hospital's perinatal loss coordinator, as well as other medical staff to attend a nationally-recognized perinatal loss conference that was held in Portland in February 2007. The conference was hosted by RTS Bereavement Services. Participants studied the grieving process and learned interventions, guidelines, and communication skills to provide consistent and mindful care to bereaved families.

In addition, the perinatal loss coordinator attended training on how to develop and implement a perinatal bereavement program, with emphasis on conflict management, teaching strategies and leadership self-assessment. This training allowed the perinatal loss coordinator to recommend refinements to the excellent program currently in place at Providence Newberg Medical Center.

Nora's mother, Raina, participated in a parents' panel during the conference, an invitation she was honored to accept in Nora's memory. Four bereaved parents shared stories of their babies and their experiences with medical professionals.

Memorial

One of the founding goals of the Nora Madelyn Fund for Infant and Child Loss was to construct a memorial in Providence Newberg Medical Center's healing garden to provide a place of reflection, comfort and hope for parents who have lost a child at any age or stage of pregnancy.

We are pleased to announce that the memorial is completed and has been installed. Portland artist Greg Lewis created the glass butterfly sculpture. A memorial plaque has been placed with the artwork.

A dedication ceremony led by hospital chaplain Rev. Gregg Selander was held July 22, 2006. View photos of the memorial and dedication ceremony.

We are so grateful to everyone who has supported Nora's Fund; because of you, the community has a permanent memorial to remember our children. We hope that it provides comfort and hope to families for many years to come.

For those who wish to view the memorial in person, Providence Newberg Medical Center is located just off Hwy. 99W at 1001 Providence Drive in Newberg. Enter the healing garden through Ruth's Cafe. The memorial is on the eastern edge of the garden.

Additional landscaping around the memorial has now been installed. The plantings include a pink dogwood, Forget Me Nots, ferns, and Love roses, one of the parent roses of Fire and Ice (or "Nora's rose").

Birth Center Retreat

A founding goal of the Nora Madelyn Fund for Infant and Child Loss is to provide education and resources to the Providence Newberg Hospital's Birth Center staff to support them in not only their care of the parents of children who have died, but also in their "self-care," as they experience their own emotional responses to these losses.

In April 2006, Nora's Fund provided support for a retreat for Birth Center staff. The retreat focused on "self-care" for the nurses, as well as other issues relating to care for bereaved families and babies who have died before, during or after birth.

The retreat was led by two recognized experts in the field of perinatal loss and grief: Pat Schwiebert RN and Jillian Romm RN, LCSW. Ms. Schwiebert is a founder of the Portland-based Metanoia Peace Community, the umbrella organization which houses Brief Encounters, a local support organzation for bereaved parents of pregnancy and infant loss. She is the author of several books on grief, including We Were Gonna Have a Baby But We Had an Angel Instead, When Hello Means Goodbye and Tear Soup. Copresenting with Ms. Schwiebert was Jillian Romm, RN and LCSW, an assistant professor in ObGyn at OHSU. Among her special interests are counseling and caring for grieving families, including those experiencing perinatal losses. Currently, Ms. Romm is the president of the North American Society for Psychosocial Obstetrics & Gynecology.

In addition to the retreat for Birth Center, Nora's Fund sponsored two half-day workshops on perinatal loss and grief care issues. These well-received sessions were also led by Pat Schwiebert and Jillian Romm. Over 50 RNs, hospital and medical clinic staff, and community caregivers attended the workshops. A DVD of the workshop is available to medical professionals and care providers upon request (a donation to Nora's Fund is appreciated). Please contact the Providence Newberg Hospital Birth Center at (503) 537-1555.

Resources for Providence Newberg Hospital Birth Center

A founding goal of the Nora Madelyn Fund for Infant and Child Loss is to provide funding for the resources and comfort items used by the Providence Newberg Hospital Birth Center staff in caring for bereaved parents. The hospital's Perinatal Loss Committee oversees these resources.

On an ongoing basis, Nora's Fund purchases:

  • books on grief and healing for the Birth Center's perinatal loss lending library
  • Spanish language booklets for parents and grandparents

7.24.05: Nora's Third Birthday

Thank you to all who have supported our family with your thoughts and prayers.

And thank you to all who have supported Nora's Fund with your generous donations.

Trust that you have comforted many in their time of need.

Nora, we love you and miss you.

Newberg Public Library

The Nora Madelyn Fund made a gift to the Newberg Public Library to purchase books on grief, bereavement, pregnancy loss and subsequent pregnancy for the adult and childrens' collections.

Newberg Ministerial Association: Pastoral Care in Pregnancy Loss Book

The Nora Madelyn Fund donated copies of the book, Pastoral Care in Pregnancy Loss, to members of the Newberg Ministerial Association and to the Providence Newberg Hospital volunteer chaplains to aid them in their care of bereaved families in our community.

If you are a member of the spiritual care community who would like to receive this book courtesy of Nora's Fund, please contact us by e-mail at noramadelynfund@yahoo.com.

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