Richard S. Shineman Foundation Awards Crouse Health Foundation $150,000 Grant

The Richard S. Shineman Foundation, in Oswego, NY, has awarded Crouse Health Foundation a $150,000 grant to be used for the renovation and expansion of the Baker Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Crouse Health Foundation is raising $10 million through private gifts to the CrouseCares campaign to support the $31 million dollar project.

In recent years, the need for neonatal care has grown regionally and nationally due to an increase in the number of premature and multiple births. While Crouse’s NICU is the highest level — and largest — in the region with 57 bassinets, more space is required to provide the best care possible to its tiniest patients.

The renovated NICU will be expanded from its current size of 15,000 square feet to a total size of 24,000 square feet. The plans will incorporate lifesaving technological advances, while also providing more space for families to bond with infants, a reflection of the NICU’s focus on family-centered care. Increased space in the NICU will provide a more comfortable and private environment for family members, with an emphasis on physical and emotional bonding.

Each year the NICU, designated by the New York State Department of Health as the only hospital in Central New York to serve as the area’s Regional Perinatal Center, provides care to 1,000 premature and critically ill infants from a 14-county area, including Onondaga and Oswego counties.

The mission of the Richard S. Shineman Foundation is to be a catalyst for change to enhance the quality of life in Oswego County. The Foundation will use its resources to stimulate economic vitality, to encourage strong bonds that strengthen the community and to build the capacity of its not-for-profit partners.