Donation Gives Stillborn Infants’ Families Time with their Child

Caption: John Gottung, RT, director of Women’s and Children’s Services at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) and Themarge Small, MD, SVMC OB/GYN, left, and Deb Mone, RNC, SVMC perinatal bereavement coordinator, right, accept the donation of a special bassinet from Katie Irwin, founder of Scarlet’s Mission, a charity that aims to increase the amount of time families of stillborn infants have to spend with their babies.  

BENNINGTON, VT—February 19, 2020—When a family learns that the child they have eagerly anticipated is stillborn, what they often want more than anything is more time with their baby. A special bassinet called a CuddleCot extends the amount of time that families can grieve with their child, if they choose to.

Scarlet’s Mission, a non-profit dedicated to giving families of stillborn babies the gift of time, has donated a CuddleCot to Southwestern Vermont Medical Center’s Women’s and Children’s Services Department, part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC).

“Helping families who have lost an infant is the most difficult part of our jobs,” said Deb Mone, RNC, perinatal bereavement coordinator. “This gift is so very special to us, because it helps us give our patients a very small comfort at what is often the most difficult time in their lives.”

Named in honor of Scarlet Suzy McGonigal, born July 18, 2015, Scarlet’s Mission was founded by her mother Katie Irwin and father Jim McGonigal. The bassinet includes a cooling unit that allows families to spend extra time with their baby by regulating its temperature. The charity has placed seven CuddleCots in New England hospitals.

About SVHC:
Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) is a comprehensive, preeminent, health care system providing exceptional, convenient, and affordable care to the communities of Bennington and Windham Counties of Vermont, eastern Rensselaer and Washington Counties of New York, and northern Berkshire County in Massachusetts. SVHC includes Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation, and the SVHC Foundation. SVMC includes 25 primary and specialty care practices. For more information, visit svhealthcare.org.

Southwestern Vermont Medical Center provides exceptional care without discriminating on the basis of an individual’s age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Language assistance services, free of charge, are available at 1-800-367-9559.