Prisma Health Richland receives $10,000 grant

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Prisma Health Richland has received a $10,000 grant to support or establish hugging programs for newborns in its neonatal intensive care unit.

The hospital is one of eight awarded the Huggies No Baby Unhugged grant. Volunteers hold newborns whose parents are unable to visit because of logistical, work or other challenges. The hospital will use the grant to purchase more chairs, books and other items, according to a news release.

“Our goal at Prisma Health is to do everything that we can to support our families,” Mollie Ironside, a pediatric speech language pathologist at Prisma Health Richland Hospital, said in the release. “We know that touch is a vital part of caring for each patient, and something as simple as a hug helps provide babies with what they need to develop and grow.”

The No Baby Unhugged program, initiated in 2016, has awarded $330,000 in grant funding to hospitals, according to the release.

For information about becoming a Prisma Health personal touch volunteer, call 803-296-5570.