Variety - the Children’s Charity awards more than $125,000 to MercyOne Central Iowa
October 8, 2023Des Moines, Iowa, October 9, 2023 – MercyOne Central Iowa has been awarded over $144,000 from Variety – the Children’s Charity to enhance the care and services to Iowa children at MercyOne Children’s Hospital and MercyOne House of Mercy.
A $116,275 grant was awarded to the MercyOne Children’s Hospital which will be used to purchase three GE Panda infant warmers. This project will renovate three labor and delivery suites to accommodate three new GE Panda infant warmers. These warmers are equipped with specialized features to support clinicians as they care for some of our hospital’s tiniest patients.
“Each year MercyOne Des Moines welcomes thousands of babies. In 2022, we celebrated more than 4,000 births including 92 sets of twins and three sets of triplets,” said Maria Nelson, Market Director for Women’s and Children’s Service at MercyOne Children’s Hospital. “These infant warmers are vitally needed. This grant will allow us to update the existing warmers and allow for more efficiency in our Labor and Delivery suites.”
An $8,895 grant was awarded to MercyOne House of Mercy which will provide new ADA accessible picnic tables at their outdoor playground.
“Over the past two years, House of Mercy has made significate improvements to our playground including some health and safety updates,” said Director of MercyOne House of Mercy, Rebecca Peterson. “Work centered on updating the physical space with new concrete, drainage and playground surfacing. Adding new accessible seating is one of the final items needed to complete this space. Variety is helping us finish our project that will positively affect children’s wellbeing and promote outdoor play.”
“We are so pleased to partner with Variety and are grateful for its ongoing generosity to our MercyOne family,” said Shannon Cofield, President of MercyOne Des Moines Foundation. “The organization’s enduring legacy of serving the most urgent needs of kids in our community is outstanding, and we are appreciative of the important care these grants will provide.”
Variety - the Children's Charity is dedicated to improving the lives of children who are underprivileged, at-risk, critically ill or living with special needs. Funding is provided to programs and initiatives that directly impact the well-being of children throughout Iowa. For more information on how you can be a part of Variety's work, please visit varietyiowa.com.
