Release date: 07.08.2024
Mon Health Medical Center’s Auxiliary recently donated handmade gowns and shawls to the Mon Health Medical Center Family Birth Center for families who have lost a child as part of the Angel Gowns Project. The gowns are made from donated wedding dresses and given to parents of stillborn babies or newborns who died shortly after birth.
The Angel Gowns project was inspired by Jill Buterbaugh and Joanne Liptock, two friends and colleagues at Mon Health Medical Center. Out of their desire to provide some comfort to grieving families during their loss, the idea was presented to the Mon Health Medical Auxiliary Board and the ongoing project began. When a child dies, there is often nothing to dress them in other than a simple blanket or shirt, adding to the overwhelming grief of the parents. These handmade gowns are given as a gift to the grieving family to acknowledge their loss in a personal way.
“We would have loved to do this project at the hospital to help ease the pain of those who have suffered loss in the past, and we hope these dresses will provide some comfort to grieving families knowing that someone cares about what they are going through,” said Kathy Pompili and Joyce Wassick, members of the Mon Health Medical Center Auxiliary who donated the angel dresses.
On Tuesday, July 23, several angel gowns and wraps with matching headpieces were presented to the Mon Health Medical Center Family Birth Center. Mon Health Medical Center Auxiliary members plan to continue donating gowns to the hospital, as well as to the Mon Health Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital Family Birth Center in Weston, West Virginia, and Vandalia Health’s CAMC Women and Children’s Hospital in Charleston, West Virginia.
“These gowns are such a loving gift for our Mon Health families who have suffered the loss of a child,” said Anna DeFazio, director of nursing and women’s services at the Mon Health Medical Center Family Birth Center. “We are so grateful to Jill Buterbaugh and the late Joanne Liptock for their initiative in bringing this idea to the hospital, and to Kathy Pompili, Joyce Wassick and Beth Burn of the charity who collected wedding gowns and fabric to create these beautiful angel gowns.”
For more information about the Mon Health Medical Center Auxiliary and upcoming fundraisers, visit MonHealth.com/Main/Auxiliary. For more information about the Mon Health Medical Center Family Birth Center, visit MonHealth.com/Main/Birth-Center.
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