Memphis, Tenn., April 30, 2004  -  – Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women’s Community Advisory Board will host a Mother-Daughter Tea and Art Boutique in the lobby of the hospital at 6225 Humphreys Blvd. on Sunday, May 2 at 3 p.m. in support of the hospital’s Giraffe Bed Campaign.

The Mother-Daughter Tea will include a silent auction, tea and keynote speaker – Billie Cash, mother of former Miss America Kelly Cash-Sheppard. The silent auction will feature art from local female artists and gift baskets of goodies from local boutiques, spas and other vendors. Tickets for the Tea are $40 for adults and $20 for children.

The goal of the event is to raise enough funds to purchase one Ohmeda Medical Giraffe® OmniBed®, which costs about $30,000, for Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women’s newborn intensive care unit. The Giraffe® Omnibed® is two beds in one and provides two heat sources for babies – radiant and incubator. The beds offer many other benefits to newborn ICU babies and their caregivers, including a computer that automatically assesses and adjusts heat levels; a baby susan rotating mattress, which allows staff to move the bed and perform necessary tests without moving the baby; and better visualization of babies for staff and parents.

The Mother-Daughter Tea is part of a larger campaign, spearheaded by the hospital’s community advisory board, to purchase five Giraffe® Omnibeds® for the Baptist Women’s Hospital’s newborn ICU. The unit already has three beds.

About 10 percent of the babies born at Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women are treated in the hospital’s newborn ICU, and about one-third of these newborns are TennCare, Medicaid or charity care patients. On average, babies stay in the newborn ICU for six weeks.

Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women has 23 labor and delivery suites and 48 mother/baby rooms with a well baby nursery. The hospital also is equipped for any obstetrical emergency, with a 40-bed newborn intensive care unit, 24-hour neonatologist care and a high-risk pregnancy specialist. This comprehensive women’s hospital is the first of its kind in Memphis and one of only about 15 freestanding women’s hospitals in the nation.

For more information about Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women’s Mother-Daughter Tea or to purchase tickets, please call (901) 227-7123.

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