An expanded family room is one of the features of Dunedin Hospital's new $7 million neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), which is being constructed on the first floor, on the site of the old staff cafeteria and corporate district health board offices.
Donations presented yesterday from the Rotary Club of Dunedin ($13,075) and Z Energy's Good'n the Hood programme ($1136) to the Neonatal Trust Otago would go towards making the new neonatal unit more comfortable for families using it.
Mrs Lund's son, Ryland, was born six weeks early, 16 days ago, and weighed 1.8kg. He then dropped back to 1.3kg due to feeding problems.
He was now learning to feed properly and was out of an incubator, to the relief of Mrs Lund, whose husband Damian and son Easton (3) were back at home in Cromwell.
Mrs Lund was also in NICU after Easton's birth, so was very aware of the benefits a new NICU will provide for families.
''The family room will be amazing. The one here is so small, and it's quite an emotional time. To have somewhere to be with family and have a cry in private ... will make a real difference.''
Other new facilities in the new unit, such as a breast-feeding room and laundry facilities, would also be very welcome, she said.
The new NICU is scheduled to be completed at the end of the year.
