UNIVERSITY OF
MIAMI PROJECT: NEW BORN
Project: New Born is a nonprofit philanthropic
organization founded in 1973 by a group of committed and dynamic
women who devoted themselves to raising much-needed funds for
maintenance and support of the
Project: New Born Neonatal
Special Care Center, a facility for imperiled premature and high risk
infants located at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial
Hospital. In 1986 Project: New Born was joined by the Infantry,
an offspring group of young energetic men and women, dedicated to
the same goals and pledged to support the annual funding
necessary to provide the best possible care for the babies. The
organization has raised large sums of money and has pledged to
continue to do so! Fund raising occurs through annual dues,
through an annual luncheon and gala as well as other events, and
through plaques in honor of or in memory of family or friends,
which are displayed outside the
Project: New Born Neonatal
Special Care Center.
The main purpose of the organization is to enable the Neonatal
Special Care Center to provide the best possible care of infants
with special problems too complex to be managed in other
institutions. Chosen by the National Institute of Health, the
center is one of small number of centers which form a Neonatal
Research Network to investigate specialized problems in the care
of sick neonates. Survival for the smallest infants in the
Project: New Born Neonatal Special Care Center is one of the
highest in all of the Florida counties, and amongst the highest
nationwide.
Project: New Born's fundraising efforts have been applied to a
number of crucial activities taking place in the Division of Newborn Medicine/Department of Pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, including research, equipment purchase,
salary subsidization, and advocacy support. The major goal in
terms of facilitating research is not only the survival of the
infant, but equally important, the development of healthy normal
babies. The commitment to supporting neonatal research has
enabled the establishment of a research endowment fund for the
expansion of the Neonatal Physiology Laboratory, where the
research thrust continues to include such neonatal problems as
neonatal infection, chronic lung disease, retinopathy of
prematurity, brain hemorrhage in preterm infants, and apnea of
prematurity. In addition, funds are made available for annual
grants for medical students interested in doing research in the
field of neonatology. Project: New Born's funds have enabled the
purchase of badly needed equipment for the
Project: New Born Neonatal
Special Care Center, in order to cope with the
ever-increasing complexity of the infants in the unit. Funds have
provided subsidies for salaries of key laboratory personnel.
Finally, the organization has provided support for advocacy and
legal action programs for vitally important issues pertaining to
the needs and well being of all babies. The influence of a viable
support group like Project: New Born is invaluable in creating
public awareness of the need for better neonatal care.
The organization is several thousand strong: a formidable
group which is on the march to attract new members and interested
individuals committed to the same goals...that "every baby
deserves a happy, healthy start in life..."
For further information regarding Project: New Born or to make a donation,
you can contact Maria Valles at 305-585-6408 or make out your donation to
Project: New Born and mail to:
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Dept. of Pediatrics, Div. of Neonatology
Project: New Born
P.O. Box 016960 (R-131)
Miami, FL 33101
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