The Gift of Life Art Auction is a fundraiser to support the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at University Hospital of the West Indies Kingston, Jamaica.

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) was first established in 1961 as a small room on the maternity ward, where  basic care for babies was provided. It was subsequently relocated in 1963 to its current  location as a 40 bassinet unit. That year, 33 patients were admitted to the unit. 72% of the patients admitted  had respiratory distress secondary to Prematurity. The unit was managed by two house officers, a resident and a Consultant and # nurses. 

The unit underwent major refurbishing in 2001, in response to the establishment of an In Vitro Fertilization program at the University Hospital of the West Indies. A 30 bed level II Newborn Special Care a nursery and six bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit were established in the current footprint. The team began to manage patients with more complex issues and ventilated the first patient  in August 2001.  

Today, the unit admits 330-400 patients annually and boasts a staff complement of  Neonatal Consultants, Neonatal Fellows( Neonatologists in training), Paediatric Residents  and Nurses and Allied Health staff. It functions as a referral centre for patients from Community Hospitals in Jamaica and neighbouring islands. 

In the more than 2o years since the refurbishing, there have been many success stories and modern miracles that the staff has been a part of, which should be celebrated. There is however much work still to be done to equip and position this institution as one of the state of the art quaternary referral centres for the Caribbean basin!

It is with the vision of an empowered, well equipped NICU at the UHWI which is up to global standards, and which has attained and sustained the United Nations Sustainable Development goal of a Neonatal Mortality rate < 12/1000 live births, that The Caring for Miracles  Foundation has adopted the unit. We  build capacity through Equipping- through the purchase of life saving equipment- , Educating and building Resilience in the Healthcare team and the families that they serve( the CEER approach). 

Since adopting the unit in September 2021, when The Caring for Miracles Foundation was launched, we have with the support of our generous donors and partners: 

• donated a fully loaded resuscitation kit to the Neonatal Unit at the UHWI

• celebrated the families admitted to the Neonatal unit during NICU Awareness month 2022, Prematurity Awareness month 2022 and Christmas 2021/2022with a family photo shoot, which for many families was their first and care packages 

• led the Neonatal team at the UHWI in a Visioning exercise to hear from them what their hopes, dreams, aspirations were for the unit, the team and the service they provide

• engaged in strategic planning with the UHWI NICU leadership and are currently working alongside the NICU and Obstetric teams to develop and execute initiatives which align with the strategic vision, aimed at improving care delivery

• celebrated the Neonatal UHWI team during Healthcare worker appreciation month and again during  NICU Awareness month

• awarded the Nursing Excellence ward to an exemplary nurse

• held our first major fundraising event, The Gift of Life Art Auction, in collaboration with the Malia Brown Foundation, in April 2022,  which  enabled us to purchase a pulse oximeter which was gifted to the Neonatal team to support the resuscitation of preterm infants

• hosted two symposia (The Caring for Babies born too soon Symposium 2021/2022) focused on  disseminating information about the care of preterm infants and the experience of families on this journey,  to Healthcare practitioners and the community, in keeping with our focus on education

• and most recently in June 2023, in partnership with the Friendly Lodge 239, donated an Air-Oxygen blender to support the resuscitation of preterm infants.   

That is quite the list! The Caring for Miracles Foundation elves have been busy. And we are likely to get even busier as we embark on supporting two projects aimed at standardizing  care delivery to  preterm infants- The Golden Hour- and Resilience building  for parents who traverse this unit. These areas of focus were identified as priorities during  strategic planning with the UHWI NICU Leadership. 

It is in support of these initiatives, that this fundraising Art Auction is being held. 

Your support can change the trajectory of the lives of these vulnerable patients and their families! 

You can give the Gift of Life! 

Yours in partnership,
The Planning Committee
The Gift of Life Art Auction

To all those who have supported this necessary initiative: the Senior Leadership University Hospital of the West Indies, our premium

partners The AC Hotels by Marriott and Sandal Resorts International, our other partners SAGICOR Foundation, The Herald Printers, the Friendly Lodge 239, Wisynco, Fontana, RMP &amp; associates, Country Trails, the amazing artists who participated in the Gift of Life Art Auction 2022 and 2023, the families and NICU staff who so willingly share their stories, our volunteers, staff, Board members, family members and friends. Thank you!

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Donate to:

Bank: National Commercial Bank Jamaica Ltd

Address: UWI MONA

Name on A/C: The Caring for Miracles Foundation Ltd.

Account: JMD/ Savings Acc #  404414186

                      USD/ Savings Acc # 404414208

(NB: We are working on charitable designation. Please forward receipt for donation to our email, so that we can acknowledge your gift )