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The stars still shine bright on baby wall at new OTMH by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff 9 | Friday, February 19, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Elise Cabanez and Batoul Khalil have left a special mark on the new Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH). Each have their names and birthdate engraved on shiny new stars that now adorn the walls of a hallway near the Maternal Child Unit. Although they're among more than 300 stars that make up the Sky of Stars Baby Wall, each baby girl had their own unique circumstances that garnered them a spot in the whimsical scene of a starlit night sky. The scene was originally created at the old hospital to provide parents and families with a way to commemorate the birth of their child or loved one. Elise was the last baby to be born at OTMH's legacy location at 327 Reynolds St. at 7:51 a.m. on Dec. 13, 2015 (the hospital's move day), while Batoul was the first baby to be born at the newly opened OTMH at 3001 Hospital Gate (Third Line at Dundas Street), arriving at 9:28 a.m. the same day. "I think Elise shows she's going to be a strongwilled young lady and things are going to go her way," said Cindy MacDonald, program director of the Maternal Child Unit at the official installation of the Oakville Hospital Foundation's Sky of Stars Baby Wall program at the new hospital, Tuesday (Feb. 16). Batoul, she added, also decided she didn't want to wait with the hospital doors open for less than three and a half hours before she decided she was ready to enter the world. The girls were among the special guests invited to mark the official unveiling of the Sky of Stars Baby Wall program in its new location. The fundraising program was launched March 19, 2004, to help raise funds to support the Maternal Child Unit. For a minimum donation of $150, individuals can purchase a star for the wall, engraved with their baby's name and birth date to "light up" the sky. MacDonald explained how the wall signifies "the connection we have with the babies who are born here and also the connection those babies of the program have with the community." She noted OTMH staff help deliver 2,300 babies on average every year. "What you see on the walls here are not just babies that are loved and cherished by their family members, but it's also a commitment from the Oakville community and from the community of families of babies who are born here to support us," said MacDonald. "The money that was generated through the (Oakville Hospital) Foundation for this comes right back into our program to help us provide the best quality of care we have and to have the equipment required, especially in our special care nursery for those real little ones that may need some extra help." "When someone buys a star, that family is caring for many families to come in the future," said see Stars on p.11 Halton Healthcare and the Oakville Hospital Foundation celebrated the move of the Sky of Stars Baby Wall from the legacy hospital location on Reynolds Street to the new Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital on Dundas Street at Third Line. At the opening Tuesday are mothers Nermeen Mostafa and Roslen Batistil holding their respective babies, Batoul Khalil and Elise Cabanez. | photo by Justin Greaves ­ Oakville Beaver Murphy beds specialists Oakville's adjustable and Widest Selection Of Adjustable Beds Available All Serta Mattresses on Sale This Weekend! Locally Owned & Operated Family Business www.lbal.ca 500 Speers Road, Oakville 905-339-2424 We Invite Our Oakville Neighbours toVisit One of the Finest Showrooms in Ontario! 3440 Fairview Street, Burlington Ontario L7N 2R5 Oakville: (905) 827-5585 Burlington: (905) 634-7701 Hamilton: (905) 544-2220 www.broomshvac.ca Open: Mon. - Sat. Closed: Sun. Fairview St. Guelph Line Cumberland Ave Fairview St Woodview Rd St. Walkers Line Prospect Professional Advice on Top Brands