WellStar's Women in Philanthropy continue to make a difference in Cobb County. Their most recent funding initiative was acquisition of a new Giraffe OmniBed for the Kennestone Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

The Kennestone NICU needed a new Giraffe OmniBed, a highly specialized incubator for small, fragile infants. The bed reduces the stress infants experience by providing a continuous flow of warm air to stabilize body temperature and minimizes the level of noise from the environment while allowing the medical staff easy access to provide care.

The 67 members of Women in Philanthropy responded by purchasing a Giraffe OmniBed with their combined annual membership donations. This and other initiatives, including Genetic Risk Assessment Progra and the Infant Bereavement Fund at Cobb and Kennestone Hospitals, is part of the group's common goal: to inspire and empower women to fulfill their philanthropic potential by telling the WellStar story in the community and encouraging others to help create world-class health care.

"This state-of-the-art bed will make a major impact in helping our staff provide care that will meet physical as well as the developmental needs of the infants. The generous gift of this bed, costing over $30,000, has meant that the Women in Philanthropy group has truly become a partner in caring for our tiniest patients," said Marla Camp, Nurse Manager of the Kennestone NICU.

Women are invited to join Women In Philanthropy with an annual gift of $1,000 ($500 for those 35 and younger), with all donations going toward the funding initiative for that current year. The funding initiative for this giving society is selected each year based on suggestions from the members and the needs of the facilities.

The group enjoys at least four educational socials conducted quarterly in members' homes or on WellStar Facility campuses. Each social has a theme or topic with a professional in that area providing information.

Over the next two years, the women will fund the Children's Retreat at the new WellStar Community Hospice at Kennesaw Mountain. This "kid friendly" area will provide a refuge - a retreat - that is specifically designed to help children process and adjust to the eventual loss of a loved one.

"The women felt that this new facility is the perfect opportunity for them, as a group, to help create a place of wellness and healing for the thousands of children in our community who will lose a loved one in the years to come," said Kim Gresh, Co-Chair of Women in Philanthropy.

The extra money raised over and above the dollars committed to Hospice in this year will provide dollars to help women of need participate in the Lung Cancer Screening Study. Lung cancer is now the No. 1 cancer killer of women, claiming the lives of more women each year than breast, cervical, and ovarian cancers combined, and early detection is key. The cost of the screening is $270 and is not covered by insurance.

For more information on WellStar's Women in Philanthropy, contact Kati Hyland, Development Coordinator, at (770) 956-6673 or via email at kati.hyland@wellstar.org.