Why We Fund Our Own Plates - Savannah Abbott/ Paris Regional Medical Center

As Mamie’s expands across the country, we have more and more hospitals reaching out to us, wanting to provide plates for their families. Currently, we have 24 hospitals on our waitlist. These hospitals are interested in partnering with Mamie’s but need funding. We try our best to find donor families who are willing to support these hospitals through our hospital adoption program. An often quicker way for these facilities to move off of the waitlist is by finding internal funding for the program through their general budget, local donors or auxiliaries or foundations. We have several hospitals that are currently self-funded, including Paris Regional in Paris, Texas. Savannah Abbott, Director of Maketing and Communications, was gracious enough to share why Mamie’s Poppy Plates is important to their bereavement program and the impact on their families who have experienced a loss.

Savannah Abbott/ Marketing Director - Paris Regional Medical Center

Mamie’s Poppy Plates was brought to me through our Women’s and Children’s Services Department leader(s). I researched the program, loved the mission and felt it was something to prioritize for that unit and our patients who have experienced infant loss. When a family loses their infant – whether expected or not – there is little anyone can say or do to take away even a fraction of the pain. Our nurses and physicians are absolutely incredible and comfort those families in every way they can, but nothing will ever be enough. Once they are home and the “dust settles,” often the calls and visits and meals settle, too. People who aren’t directly affected go on about their lives, as they do in any situation with loss and grief. Receiving a memorial plate through MPP from Paris Regional doesn’t change the circumstances for these families, but it does tell them that they mean something to us. That we share a sliver of their grief and that we continue to remember them. They are not just another patient on the roster to us; their stories and experiences remain with us, as do the memories of their precious children.

The annual fee is something our hospital covers internally within our budget. We feel this is a priority “service” that we want to continue for the reasons listed above, and I am grateful to our executive leadership team for seeing the value in this program.