In a nutshell: To help the families of other little bugs who start their life out in the Special Care Nursery at Children's!
Most of you know about Railay's brief stay in the Special Care Nursery right after she was born. What landed her there (spontaneuous pneumothorax) was not very serious and her stay was mostly for observation and to allow 48 hours for a blood culture.
However, many of the babies in the Special Care Nursery are there for very serious conditions and longer stays. On top of the medical-realted costs, families with a baby in the Nursery incur a lot of other expenses. Just take a look at the parking ramp rates!
Amount of time
Main parking ramp*
Valet parking rate*
0 to 15 min
$0
$3
15 min to 30 min
$3
$6
30 min to 1 hr
$5
$8
1 to 2 hrs
$6
$9
2 to 3 hrs
$7
$10
3 to 4 hrs
$8
$11
4 to 5 hrs
$9
$12
5 to 6 hrs
$10
$13
6 to 7 hrs
$11
$14
7 to 24 hrs
$12
$15
24 to 48 hrs
$17
$20
48 to 72 hrs
$22
$25
72 hrs/maximum
$27
$30
Add to that the cost of transportion, meals away from home, and potentially hotel stays (the rooms in the Nursery are designed for the patient--the baby--and have only a small couch and chair)--it's easy to see how quickly things add up. I'm fundraising to help ease the financial burden that inevitably comes with an extended stay in the Special Care Nursery.