While the addition of a child can be one of the most beautiful and remarkable moments in a family’s story, sadly, not all deliveries go as planned. Approximately 1 in 160 birth will be stillborn, meaning parents go home without their little one.
In order to provide these families with extra support, in October 2019, bereavement team members and volunteers introduced the Kindred Hearts program. Parents experiencing an infant loss receive a visit from a volunteer who has personal experience with this type of pain. They are there to facilitate memory making and offer hope during a dark time.
Kristen Riecke, coordinator and volunteer, Kindred Hearts, Cori McKenzie, bereavement coordinator and volunteer, Kindred Hearts, and Delaney Baumann, NP, volunteer, Kindred Hearts, share more about the creation of this special program and what motivates them to reach out to others in their grieving process.