Lukas’ Fund, a local not-for-profit founded by Mark Ebell and Laura Bierema in memory of their son Lukas, recently made a generous donation to support the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Athens Regional Medical Center.
 
The donation of $13,237 will be used to purchase four additional Kangaroo Chairs for the NICU at Athens Regional Medical Center. The gift of these chairs will help the physicians and clinicians in Athens Regional’s NICU provide the optimal environment for parents to bond with their fragile newborn while in the NICU.
 
Athens Regional is the only hospital in the region to offer the specialized care and expertise required of a Level III NICU. Of the 2,500 annual deliveries at the hospital, ten percent are premature babies who require extra attention and medical treatment.
 
The mission of Lukas’ Fund is to improve the outcomes and experiences of infants and their parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, working primarily with Athens Regional and Grady Hospital in Atlanta.
 
To date, through the tireless efforts of many volunteers and many other generous donors, Lukas’ Fund has raised over $300,000 to support the two NICUs.