UNMC to Hold Memorial Service Oct. 12 for Deceased Newborns and Infants

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.