The Bob and Renee Parsons Foundation Awards Grant to Hushabye Nursery

The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation awarded an $800,000 grant to Hushabye Nursery – a nonprofit providing specialized care to opioid-exposed newborns and their families – to help establish a permanent facility to treat infants suffering from withdrawal symptoms. Hushabye Nursery will be the first medical center of this type in Arizona, and the third in the entire country. The facility, located at 3003 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix, is scheduled to open in September 2020. The newly renovated space will include a dozen private rooms for babies and their caregivers, a nurses’ station, consultation space and outpatient therapy areas. Once complete, the nursery will serve more than 100 babies and their families each year.

“Opioid use disorder is a chronic illness – a brain disease. We intend to disrupt a system that often separates families due to a lack of appropriate and effective treatments. These families need a collaborative recovery process to be successful and the babies have a much better outlook if we can keep them in their biological home,” said Hushabye Nursery executive director and founder Tara Sundem. “Because of people like Bob and Renee Parsons, we can continue to care for these innocent children and provide vital support for their families as well.”

The number of children diagnosed with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) has grown by more than 200 percent since 2008. Hushabye Nursery was founded by two neonatal nurse practitioners in response to the alarming increase in the number of babies they saw in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) who were suffering drug-related withdrawal symptoms. They also witnessed the intense family trauma caused when NAS babies were taken from their parents, often without explanation or notice, and newly sober mothers were faced with difficult DCS situations and court battles.

“It is heartbreaking that so many babies are born into the world experiencing pain and suffering because of the opioid epidemic sweeping our country,” said businesswoman Renee Parsons. “Hushabye Nursery is filling a critical need by treating opioid use disorder in both infants and their mothers.”

Conventional healthcare facilities and training are not ideal for the complexity of caring for patients with opioid use disorder. Hushabye Nursery works to provide NAS infants with a quiet, therapeutic environment as they withdraw and offer ongoing behavioral health, recovery, and financial aid services to their families. Part of Hushabye Nursery’s outreach is connecting with pregnant women at methadone clinics, where they are starting the first phase of recovery. The goal is to empower these mothers through education and invite them to join the Hushabye Opioid Pregnancy Preparation and Empowerment (HOPPE) Program.

“Hushabye Nursery is providing two very important services – specialized care for opioid-exposed newborns and compassionate support for mothers in need,” said businessman Bob Parsons. “Both services work to build healthy families and improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable individuals in our community.”

Provider partners like Dignity Health, Southwest Human Development, Community Medical Services, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, and Maricopa Integrated Health Services will allow the organization to incorporate new practices into their care and improve health. To learn more about the organization or how to get involved, please visit the Hushabye Nursery website at www.hushabyenursery.org.

About Hushabye Nursery
Hushabye Nursery is an intermediate residential medically observed recovery center for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. Hushabye Nursery was formed in response to the emerging crisis of substance-exposed infants. Hushabye Nursery will provide these infants with a quiet, loving, therapeutic environment while they recover from intense withdrawal symptoms. Hushabye Nursery is committed to providing families with the support they need to successfully navigate the road of recovery. This work will include prenatal, postnatal care, and support after discharge for the transition to home.

About The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation
The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation offers support to nonprofit organizations successfully working to empower, educate, nurture, and nourish people during what is often the darkest time of their lives. Founded in 2012 by philanthropists and business leaders Bob and Renee Parsons to provide hope and life-changing assistance to the country’s most vulnerable populations, The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation offers critical funding at critical times to those in need. The Foundation’s giving is driven by the core belief that all people – regardless of race, religion, roots, economic status, sexual orientation, or gender identity – deserve access to quality healthcare, education and a safe place to call home. Follow @WeDealInHope on social media or visit TBRPF.org to learn more about partner organizations and the important work being done in the community.