OnCue recently made two large contributions to the cause of children’s health care. First, the company raised $324,000 during its annual St. Jude Halloween Promotion to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, then gifted $1 million to Stillwater, Okla.-based Stillwater Medical to support and name a new neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
The St. Jude promotion recruited participating restaurants and retail locations to ask customers to donate at the register to support the hospital’s lifesaving mission. In exchange for contributing $1 or more, patrons received a Halloween-themed pinup displaying a St. Jude patient. The c-store retailer also sold limited-edition reusable cups benefiting St. Jude’s and hosted a charitable golf tournament with the support of their retail partners.
The gift to Stillwater Medical Foundation helps the hospital in its mission to raise funds to create a Level II NICU. The 10-bed unit will serve all central and northcentral Oklahoma.
Premature babies must often be sent out of state because there are not enough NICU beds to keep Oklahoma families together. The current 98-bed Level IV NICU at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital (OCH) frequently operates at maximum capacity, according to Trent E. Tipple, chief of neonatology at OCH. While Level IV NICUs offer the most comprehensive care to the most seriously ill newborns needing complex medical and surgical care, the hospital receives many patients from Stillwater Medical and surrounding hospitals who require Level II care, underscoring the need for a more localized NICU.
“The addition of a newborn intensive care unit at Stillwater Medical means that families can stay together. And we know that this increases positive outcomes for babies and mothers. Bonding, breast feeding rates and healing all improve when families can be together,” explained Denise Webber, Stillwater Medical CEO.
Understanding the large amount of funds required to make the NICU a reality, OnCue’s donation is the largest single gift ever received at Stillwater Medical.
“Our stores have been serving the Stillwater area for 55 years, and I am beyond grateful that we can make this investment to save lives in our community,” said OnCue President Laura Aufleger.
The opening of the OnCue Neonatal ICU is scheduled for the spring of 2024.
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