2017 Flame of Hope Award

Lauren E. Lamb & Michael Smith Liss

Four years ago, Michael and Lauren experienced MedStar Georgetown Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) firsthand. During the weeks their newborn spent in the NICU, their son relied on the support, care, expertise, and generous love he received from the neonatologists, nurses, and entire clinical team.

Since the day their son was discharged, Michael and Lauren felt indebted to the NICU and wanted to find a special way to express their appreciation. Once they learned about the NICU Family Support Center renovation project, they immediately made the commitment to make the project a reality and took on the responsibility to raise the funds needed. This was their chance to do something that would have a lasting and meaningful impact.

Michael and Lauren’s leadership on this project made it possible to close the philanthropic gap and finally transform the Family Support Center into a more tranquil environment to help families decompress from the stresses of having a newborn in the NICU.

Thanks to their generosity and the support from their friends and family, this decades-old area will be modernized with easier access to the NICU and include:

• Family Lounge: A room with stylish, comfortable furniture, for relaxing or spending time with family members
• Sibling Play Area: A play area specifically designed for siblings
• Parent and Infant Sleep Rooms: A rooming-in facility for NICU parents before discharge, as well as for parents taking their infants home on medical equipment and medications. A nurse is available to supervise overnight stays of the infant(s) in this room
• Refreshment Area: A convenient kitchen area filled with healthy snacks for parents
• Lactation Room: A tranquil, spa-like lactation room for mothers
• Conference Room: A room equipped with the latest technology for neonatologists to consult with other hospitals on newborn transports to MedStar Georgetown’s Level IV NICU
• Fellows Workspace: A room dedicated for the neonatal-perinatal medicine fellows for their research and scholarly activities
• Staff Lounge: A space for associates to step away from the clinical area and relax on breaks

The entire MedStar Georgetown Hospital NICU team is thankful that Michael and Lauren made this project a priority and are thrilled to announce that construction will begin in a few months.