Dills for Bills fundraiser brings in $17,001 for NICU

“For me, it wasn’t hard to ask people to donate and there are so many people that have had to utilize the NICU here,” she said.

Jars labelled Dills for Bills were placed in businesses across the city over the last few weeks. Many came back stuffed with cash.

Russell said it’s amazing to see the community come together and to give back.

“Social media is so powerful too, that the amount of sharing that was done and we shared stories of moms that had babies in the NICU and so even if we didn’t raise a dollar, we raised awareness to the fact that there is a community out there that have been impacted by this unit,” she added.

“It’s going be to very impactful for NICU and our young families and young babies,” said Heather Bach, executive director for the Medicine Hat & District Health Foundation.

Bach said it’s hard to put into words how she feels, watching the community come together to help families in need.

With such a large donation, they’re already looking at equipment the unit needs, including a new monitor to help transition babies after a c-section to the NICU.

It’s equipment the hospital currently doesn’t have.

“Right now, they’re hooked up to a monitor, they get disconnected and they run to NICU,” she said. “And what we’d like to see is have a monitor in place so that it’s small enough to be with baby and they can calmly transition to the next department.”

Russell said she’s already planning a similar fundraiser next year.

by Ashley Wiebe

Dills for Bills fundraiser brings in $17,001 for NICU

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