This afternoon, the lobby of Hope Cottage was filled with people — including HHM Health President/CEO Brian Hawkins, HHM’s Chief Development Officer Jean Buys and The George and Fay Young Foundation Executive Director Lauren Haskins — for the ribbon-cutting of CeCe’s Place, Hope Cottage’s new maternal medical clinic with HHM Health.
In the clinic’s waiting alcove, a four-month baby was sound asleep in her mother’s arms. As her mother recalled the day of the infant’s birth, she thanked Hope Cottage CEO Stephanie Bohan and HHM Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. LaTasha Jarrett for all the hand-holding and healthcare that had resulted in a little girl “without a care in the world.”
It was a partnership between Hope Cottage and HHM Health that had helped create CeCe’s Place, “a maternal medical clinic providing affordable comprehensive healthcare for underserved pregnant individuals.”
While the idea was a natural, the seeing-it-through took some doing.
Luckily, after months of meetings and discussing all the requirements and goals, an area of Hope Cottage in the Wilson District was turned into a maternal medical clinic complete with lab, examination rooms, a waiting area with educational videos and private meeting rooms.
Stephanie and LaTasha proudly showed off each room, but when they got to the exam room they wistfully told of items still needed. One was a Samsung ultrasound system to help high-risk pregnancies.
What was so special about this Samsung device that carried a price tag of $60,000?
It seems that this specific Samsung system would allow the clinic to immediately work with its specialist-partners at Medical City to determine possible problems with the fetus and how to proceed.
In addition to receiving healthcare, the mothers will also “receive parenting education, case management and referral to community resources during and after their pregnancies, as well as adoption information and counseling for those who wish to explore that option.”
Following the birth of their children, the mothers will have access to care at CeCe’s Place or at HHM Health’s Women’s Health Center in Vickery Meadow. The babies will receive healthcare at HHM Health’s Pediatric Clinic on Walnut Hill Lane.
Along the clinic’s hallway, there was a plaque featuring the clinic’s namesake Carol “CeCe” Young Marvin, who had been adopted through Hope Cottage by Fay and George Young more than seven decades ago. It was thanks to a gift from The George and Fay Young Foundation that the clinic came into being.
As Stephanie looked at the plaque, she recalled that despite CeCe’s dying on February 25, 2023, her legacy is already helping many little ones.
So, you might say that the little four-month-old who slept through the afternoon’s celebration was provided care thanks to another little girl named CeCe.
If you know of a person in need of such services, CeCe’s Place is open Mondays from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. by appointment.