Children Move into New Home

May 21, 2009

In early 2009, the China Care Foundation announced a partnership with Half the Sky [1]which provided us with an extraordinary opportunity to do even more for China’s most fragile children - babies like the ones we’ve been treating for more than five years who might otherwise not survive. We decided to move the children from our previous children’s homes into one central location at a state-of-the-art medical home in Beijing. Together with our new partner, as well as with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, we have managed to create a much needed government-sanctioned interim care home for orphaned babies who will undergo life-saving surgeries.

Getting Ready
Our first task was to recruit and train the very best nannies and care staff that we could find. The staff, which includes both new and old faces, learned from experienced doctors and nurses about using current best practices to take care of medically fragile infants. While training was going on, we settled on a wonderful site for the new China Care Home – an apartment building in central Beijing, close to many of the hospitals that we will cooperate with. We were lucky enough to secure Dr. Roger Tan, a seasoned pediatrician, as our Medical Director, as well as four full-time pediatric nurses who each have more than 30 years of experience working at Beijing Children’s Hospital.

Once the training was completed and furniture and supplies began arriving, everyone pitched in. By the first week in May, the apartments were beginning to look like home. Each bed was tagged with the name of its soon-to-be resident.

Moving Day
Finally, on May 7, the babies arrived! All things considered, it was a pretty smooth move. The children, who were all moved from our previous China Care Children’s Homes, spent about 10 minutes looking dazed or grumpy and then settled right into their new lives as if nothing had happened. The children who would be moving into the long-term Family Housing Unit met their new moms and checked out their new toys. Those who moved into the Special Care Nursery, got right down to business - a diaper change, lunch and a nap.

Settling In
Within two hours of the children's arrival, we had our first emergency. The stress of the ride to the China Care Home was too much for one little guy. He began struggling for breath. It soon became clear he was suffering from pneumonia, as was another little newcomer. Pneumonia is all too common in such vulnerable babies whose immune systems are compromised by their medical conditions. Both babies were sent to the hospital for treatment.

Every single child at the China Care Home receives a thorough checkup each day. Dr. Tan and the nurses have instituted new policies to bring all of the children to optimum health, eliminating all the little bugs that keep them from getting the surgeries they urgently need.

Finally, life begins to take on its own rhythm for the new residents of the China Care Home. For as long as they will live here, they know they are loved, looked after, and they are home.

Read about ZiMing's Journey [2]to the China Care Home.