Covenant Health Cares!
I am honored to serve on the Covenant Health Foundation Board. We are a liaison between the hospital and the community. There are many opportunities for us to learn about Covenant Health Plainview and the entire system, its ministries and its day to day operation.
I want to share with you a ministry that I was not aware of, and you may not be either. It is Covenant Health Care's Infant Loss Program, sponsored by Covenant Women's and Children's Hospital.
This is a sensitive subject, but I feel it is important to understand the dignity given to everyone at Covenant Health Plainview.
There are four stages of infant loss:
Miscarriage-12 weeks or less gestation
Fetal demise - 13-20 weeks gestation
Stillborn - Greater than 20 weeks gestation
Infant death - a death that occurs within the first 30 days of life. These infants are admitted to the hospital and have a chart.
Parents have the opportunity to see, hold, touch and bathe their baby anytime during their stay at CHP.
Parents may have pictures taken with their infant and the family.
Parents receive special memory gifts.
Their infant is called by the name they give it.
Families are allowed to observe their cultural or religious practices.
The hospital caregiver provides:
Time alone with the baby.
Provides guidance on grieving.
They will assist the family with an autopsy or genetic testing.
The caregiver provides information in a way that is best understood.
They will also fill out paperwork for burial assistance as qualified.
Infant dignity:
The baby is recognized, named, seen, touched, and held.
The infant is granted life ending acknowledgment and allowed rest with dignity.
The burial options for the family and their baby are:
If the infant is born alive; private burial or cremation.
If the baby is deceased at birth; private burial, cremation or burial at Covenant Health's "Sacred Heart Cemetery." There are specific guidelines of course, but what a tremendous help this can be for grieving parents.



Plainview is blessed to be a part of a system that cares!