The University of Nebraska Medical Center will hold a memorial
service Oct. 12 for infants and newborns who have died at UNMC
during the past year. The service is in recognition of October’s
designation as National Perinatal Bereavement Month.
The non-denominational service will be held at 1:30 p.m. at
Westlawn and Hillcrest Memorial Park, 57th and Center streets. It
will recognize deaths due to miscarriage and stillbirth, as well
as neonatal, pediatric and adolescent deaths. For people
suffering from a loss due to miscarriage or stillbirth, the
memorial service often is the only public acknowledgment of the
loss.
Families, friends and UNMC employees have been invited to
attend the service. Anyone unable to attend has been encouraged
to send a note, poem or the child’s name to be read during the
service.
The bereavement program was started in 1988. UNMC was the
first in the nation to extend a program to families who endured
the loss of a child or adolescent.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the
state. Through its commitment to research, education and patient
care, UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading
centers for cancer research and treatment and solid organ
transplantation. More than $25 million in research grants and
contracts are awarded to UNMC scientists annually. In addition,
UNMC’s educational programs are responsible for training more
health care professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other
institution.