Ritter Communications and The Ernest and Anna Ritter Family Endowment have made a donation of $50,000 to the St. Bernards Foundation in Jonesboro to support the healthcare needs of the local community, according to an announcement from the Little Rock-based telecommunications provider.
“Ritter Communications is honored to support St. Bernards in their goal of purchasing this life-saving equipment,” said Susan Christian, VP of Marketing and Federal Advocacy for Ritter. “Their commitment to providing exceptional healthcare to Northeast Arkansas and Southeast Missouri has been a pillar for the growth of the area.”
The money is to be spent on a variety of medical equipment, including a power-load infant stretcher to safely transport infants to St. Bernard’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), three ECG heart monitors meant for cesarean section operating rooms and labor and delivery suites, as well as providing educational access for regional pediatric physicians in the St. Bernards service area.
“St. Bernards is home to the only Level 3 NICU in Northeast Arkansas and Southeast Missouri,” said Kila Owens-Montgomery, St. Bernards Foundation President. “With one in 10 infants born prematurely, this equipment is critical to our ability to provide care and attention to babies in need and enhances our mission of providing Christ-like healing to the community. The funding from Ritter Communications and the Ritter FamilyEndowment will allow us to deploy our neonatal transport team rather than rely on nearby facilities with the equipment.”
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