Before Freeman NICU opened in 1984, parents of premature or critically ill infants were sent outside the region, pulling parents away from their support system at home or separating them from their precious child because the distance was too far to travel each day. At the time, Freeman leaders anticipated 90 babies would be treated in the NICU each year. By the end of the first year, 300 babies had been admitted. Since then, nearly 10,000 infants have had a fighting chance to live thanks to the care they received at Freeman NICU.
Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals provides assistance to children from birth to 21 years of age in a 14-county area in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. All money raised stays local, helping children with medical needs and their families. Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals helps furnish and maintain Freeman NICU, provides funding for local community organizations’ pediatric needs and provides pediatric emergency equipment for area agencies.