April 18, 2002
Patient’s husband arranges laptop donation for pre-birth unit
| Craig Degginger |
| HS News & Community Relations |
Patients in UW Medical Center’s antepartum unit on 6-South will soon have laptop computers to use during their stay at the medical center, thanks to a donation from Microsoft.
“Many of the women on the antepartum unit are here for weeks at a time and away from their families,” said nurse Kathy O’Connell. “These laptops will help them keep in touch with their loved ones.”
The donation came about after O’Connell met Mike Rowand, husband of patient Debbie Rowand, who gave birth to a girl, Caitlin, at UWMC on March 15.
O’Connell learned that Mike Rowand works for the Windows XP team at Microsoft and found out the company had some slightly used laptops available.
“These are laptops used by reviewers when Windows XP came out,” Mike Rowand said. “They can’t be sold as new again, but they will be ideal for the women staying here. I pitched it to my bosses and they were all for it.”
The computers will be loaded with perinatal education materials for moms-to-be, and details are being worked out so patients can access the Internet. The remodeled 6-South rooms are wired for computer use.
“I really appreciated the care Caitlin and I received at UWMC,” said Debbie, whose pregnancy was complicated by diabetes. “Everyone here was wonderful and caring.”
