in partnership with

Tampa Bay’s signature LPGA Tour event, The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, takes place Nov. 13-17 at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla. To give back to the local community, The ANNIKA has pledged to donate $50 for every birdie scored during all four rounds with a minimum donation of $100,000 to Morton Plant Mease Health Care Foundation.  All funds received from the 2024 partnership will be invested into Mease Countryside and Morton Plant Hospitals to enhance the care of their most vulnerable, premature babies, specifically with access to the NICU2HOME app and a new neonatal transporter. 

About NICU2Home – Supporting parents of premature infants in the NICU 

Let's face it, most parents don’t expect their baby to require intensive care. Parents of premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) receive a dizzying amount of information about their baby’s changing weight, respiratory levels, feeding patterns, and more. It’s often too much for parents to absorb, especially when sleep-deprived and stressed.

Parents who deliver babies requiring treatment in Mease Countryside Hospital and Morton Plant Hospital’s NICU will soon have access to a revolutionary, evidence-based navigation app called NICU2HOME.

This smartphone app is designed to help parents get oriented to their new reality, learn about their baby, track their NICU journey, and share this journey with family and friends. NICU2HOME delivers personalized educational information to parents, including developmental milestones by age, common health concerns, and even video demonstrations, which fill in the information they may have missed from the bedside clinician.

Additionally, when parents need to go home while the baby is still in the NICU, they can remotely check the app for real-time updates on which nurse or doctor is caring for their child and wake up to an update on the baby’s medical status - allowing parents to maintain connections to their babies anytime, anywhere. With a greater understanding of how to navigate the NICU, parents can confidently provide the right care for their babies and themselves, too.

About Neonatal Transporter – Supporting premature infants in our hospitals Mease Countryside Hospital needs a neonatal transporter with an integrated ventilator to transport critical babies from the hospital’s Emergency Department and Operating Rooms to its Labor and Delivery and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

The Airborne 750i Transport Incubator is designed to provide exceptional care to newborns during intra-hospital transport while continuing to provide the necessary incubation support. Any major disturbance during transport can be harmful to the baby. The compact design helps ensure the baby’s comfort, and it can be equipped with everything the care team needs to provide safe transport within the hospital.

This upgraded technology would allow for safer and more effective immediate stabilization of the preterm infant, which can ultimately lead to decreased length of stay and improved clinical outcomes – including impacting the baby’s future intellectual, social and motor skills.