Forget-Me-Not Care Packages Offer Additional Comfort to Grieving Parents
- May 26, 2015
Brookings Health System now offers comfort care packages to parents who experience miscarriage or stillbirth, thanks to donations to Brookings Health System Foundation from the Forget-Me-Not Project and Team Isaac.
The new Forget-Me-Not comfort care packages help grieving parents honor the memory of their baby and process their loss. The packages include a pillow for parents to hold in their arms, an angel pin to wear in memory of their child, and forget-me-not flower seeds to plant. It also includes two books to help parents remember their baby and mourn their loss, Love You Forever and Empty Arms.
Webster, S.D. residents Mary and Matt Fosness, founders of the Forget-Me-Not project, and Team Isaac creators Amber and Jason Hemmestad of Volga, S.D., joined forces to provide the care packages.
“We learned that with a miscarriage or stillbirth, we have the right to grieve as much, or as little, as we need,” said Mary Fosness who chose to start the Forget-Me-Not project at Brookings Health System because of her previous experience with the hospital. “The care packages are inspired from our personal loss in hopes that we might help others heal.”
Immediately upon availability, a Forget-Me-Not care package was given to a family at Brookings Health System.
“Although the hurt is still very hard to deal with and my son and daughter-in law are still sorting out many feelings, I would like to express my thanks for the pillow packet,” said the anonymous recipients’ family member. “Each item in the packet has been a resource to begin the process of healing.”
The new comfort care packages are in addition to other mementos Brookings Health System already provides grieving parents, including clay footprints, digital photos, a memory book from Angel Albums, and a burial outfit from the Mary Madeline Project.
Contributions to the Forget-Me-Not may be made on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/projectforgetmenot or https://www.facebook.com/TeamIsaacScot.
About Brookings Health System Foundation
The mission of Brookings Health System Foundation is “Inspiring people to support Brookings Health System through philanthropy, recognizing the vital role of local healthcare in sustaining quality of life in our community.” Gifts to the Foundation support charity health care for those less fortunate, health and wellness education, facility, equipment, and technology upgrades and other needs as they arise at Brookings Health System. For more information about Brookings Health System Foundation or how you may contribute, please contact Foundation Officer Barb Anderson at (605) 696-8855 or foundation@brookingshealth.org.
About Brookings Health System
Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes a 49-bed hospital, the 79-bed The Neighborhoods at Brookview nursing home, Brookhaven Estates senior living apartments, Yorkshire Eye Clinic, Arlington Medical Center, White Medical Clinic and Volga Medical Clinic. It is a non-profit, city-owned facility that offers the community a full range of inpatient, outpatient, surgical and extended care services. The emergency room is staffed 24 hours a day and provides around the clock patient needs ranging from minor injuries to life threatening crises. For more information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000 or visit us on the Web at brookingshealth.org.