BABY BOOM ENDS

As those of you who have been reading Cottage Door over the years know, the number of babies delivered at Grace Cottage has dropped dramatically over the last decade. Indeed, no babies have been born at Grace Cottage since May.

Demographics tell much of the story - according to the U.S. Census of 2000, there was a 19.45% decline in Windham County in the number of people ages 20-24, and a 28.64% decline in the number of people ages 25-34. The women who are of child-bearing age tend to be having fewer babies than their mothers and grandmothers did, and they are often having them later in life, which puts them into a higher-risk category. Since Grace Cottage has never had an obstetrician on staff, women with high-risk pregnancies are sent to hospitals that have the capability to perform C-sections, if needed.

Therefore, the Trustees have announced that after all of the prospective mothers currently in Grace Cottage's care have delivered, obstetrics will be discontinued. However, the Baby Parade at Fair Day will continue - and will include all babies born in the West River Valley!

A grateful family writes:

Dear Dr. Linder & Staff,

Thank you all so much for the caring and understanding way you treated us and our daughter on our recent visit to your emergency room. Lexie had burned her foot in a campfire. She was traumatized and in pain and we were, to say the least, upset!

Your gentle way and reassurance helped us all, and Lexie still remembers the ice pops you gave her. Now, three weeks later, she is running around again like any normal three-year-old. Thank you all, again.

Charlie, Heather & Lexie Matthews, Union, CT

In the last issue of Cottage Door, we noted that with Irene Bills' passing, "Grace Cottage has said farewell to its last surviving original nurse." In fact, Valerie Streeter, RN, is the last surviving original nurse; she's living comfortably in a nursing home in Bennington, VT. Our sincere apologies to Val and her family for this omission.

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