Funding Allows Launch of New Fetal Program
Harold and Deborah (Hanson) Imperatore are well aware of the stress, uncertainty and heartbreak that accompany a baby born with health problems. In 1991, their 2-month-old daughter, Paige Whitney, died from SIDS, shortly after undergoing surgery for kidney disease.
Since then, Mrs. Imperatore has often wondered: If a program had been in place to support her through the medical challenges, would their outcome have been different?
Today, her entire extended family, including the Hansons and Imperatores, is helping others in similar situations by providing funds to start the Fetal Diagnostic and Treatment Program at Morristown Memorial.
“Now pregnant mothers and parents of newborns can get the emotional support and expert advice that they need if there’s an issue,” says the Basking Ridge resident.
The funds will support the hiring of a genetic counselor to coordinate care when there’s a prenatal diagnosis, says Carlos Benito, MD, director of Atlantic Health’s Maternal Fetal Medicine. “We want to make sure the proper interventions occur prenatally, intra-partum, post-delivery and during home care,” he says.