NICU refresh underway for babies like Kora

Baby Kora was born at just 23 weeks gestation and has been a patient in Starship’s Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) since she was born. Each year around 900 families, like Kora’s, have a new born baby who needs care and treatment in our NICU, and for some their stay last up to three or four months.

Thankfully the team at Starship will have an environment which supports and enhances the expert care they provide for babies like Kora and their whānau, with an upgrade underway to refurbish and expand NICU’s spaces. Starship Five Star Partner Barfoot & Thompson, a major funder, donated more than $340,000 which in addition to the amazing fundraising drive of Starship supporter Mimi Gilmour Buckley, who raised $90,565, have helped ensure the success of this project.

Kora’s mum Tangiwai is appreciative of both the NICU team who “became family and were a God-send” and the facilities. “The Mum’s Room was so helpful. It was a place to connect with other parents who knew what we were going through and understood all the medical terms. It was a place of amazing support.”

Barfoot & Thompson Managing Director Peter Thompson explains that the company believes that children are the future of New Zealand and so partnership with Starship is a natural fit.

“People and family are key to our business values and everyday practice. We know that world class medical care provided in a family-friendly environment gives these premature and unwell newborns the best change of a healthy, normal life,” he says. “We look forward to seeing what other innovation we can help provide now and in the coming years.”

The other great news is that baby Kora is doing well and has been transferred closer to home to the North Shore Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU).

Our children. Better health. Brighter futures.