Local Girl Scouts are helping babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and their mothers stay connected when they cannot be together.
Members of Girl Scout Troop #35554 in Crown Point recently crafted 300 fabric “scent hearts” and donated them to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Community Hospital in Munster.
The patterned hearts are accompanied by colorfully decorated notes explaining that moms should tuck the palm-sized hearts into the clothing they wear to pick up their scent. When the mother is away from her baby, the fabric heart can remain near the baby in the NICU so the mother’s scent can serve as a comfort.
Members of the troop worked hard on the project, which will help them earn the Bronze Award, said Kelley Thompson, troop leader and a neonatal nurse practitioner at Community Hospital.
The Bronze Award is one of the highest awards in Girl Scouting, according to the organization.
Tracy Sharp, nurse manager of Neonatology and Pediatrics at Community Hospital, said the hospital is grateful for the handmade donations from the Girl Scout troop.
“We appreciate that these girls thought of our littlest patients and ways to bring them some extra comfort as they stay in our NICU,” Sharp said.
Community Hospital operates a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. It is home to Northwest Indiana’s most experienced team of neonatal specialists, physician assistants and nurse practitioners, who are available 24/7.
For information about neonatal care at Community Healthcare System, visit www.COMHS.org/baby.