Proclamation honors bereaved parents, STHS’s work on their behalf
STHS Communication Department, CommDept@stph.org
St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper presents a proclamation in recognition of National Stillbirth Prevention and Awareness Day to St. Tammany Health System Bereavement Nurse Navigator Kristi-Lamarque Bordelon on Tuesday, Sept. 29. Pictured, from left, are STHS Chief Strategy Officer Kelly Rabalais, President and CEO Joan Coffman, AVP Critical Care Teresa Krutzfeldt, AVP Women and Children’s Services Cindy Ingram, Director of Emergency Services Bradley Leonhard, Lamarque-Bordelon, Director of Women and Children’s Services Jamie Romage, Cooper, Chief Nursing Officer Lori Sumner and Nurse Manager Rebecca Wood.
(STHS photos)
Among other things, Cooper’s proclamation notes the impact of Angel’s Law, legislation championed by Lamarque-Bordelon to establish standards of care for bereaved parents statewide.
Surrounded by St. Tammany Health System executives and care providers, St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper delivered a proclamation Tuesday afternoon (Sept. 30) in recognition of National Stillbirth Prevention and Awareness Day and the health system’s continued work on behalf of bereaved parents.
“Every family experiencing pregnancy or infant loss deserves compassionate and dignified care, including meaningful opportunities to honor and remember their child, regardless of where they live or receive medical care,” Cooper said, reading from the proclamation during a brief ceremony in the lobby of the health system’s flagship St. Tammany Parish Hospital.
Afterward, he presented a copy of the proclamation to health system Bereavement Nurse Navigator Kristi Lamarque-Bordelon, who – along with State Sen. Patrick McMath and Rep. Kim Carver – was a driving force behind the passage earlier this year of Angel’s Law, which establishes standards of bereavement care for Louisiana families experiencing the loss of an infant or child.
Lamarque-Bordelon also played a key role in the organization earlier this month of the inaugural Walking with Angels: A Walk of Remembrance, an STHS-hosted event honoring families who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth or the loss of a child.
National Stillbirth Prevention and Awareness Day is recognized every year on Sept. 19 to increase public awareness about the more than 20,000 babies who are stillborn in the United States every year, to promote stillbirth research and prevention, and to support those parents who have experienced stillbirth.
Parish President Mike Cooper reads his National Stillbirth Prevention and Awareness Day proclamation in the lobby of St. Tammany Parish Hospital. Looking on are, from left, St. Tammany Health System Chief Strategy Officer Kelly Rabalais, Bereavement Nurse Navigator Kristi Lamarque-Bordelon and Chief Nursing Officer Lori Sumner.
St. Tammany Health System Bereavement Nurse Navigator Kristi Lamarque-Bordelon and St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper show off Cooper’s proclamation in recognition of National Stillbirth Prevention and Awareness Day.
St. Tammany Health System President and CEO Joan Coffman chats with Parish President Mike Cooper following his Tuesday proclamation.