ENGINEERING AND LAND SURVEYING SERVICES WITH A PERSONAL TOUCH
“ We want these babies to have a strong start and successful future. For this to happen, we need to make sure the parents are getting what they need to be successful in their recovery and everyday life situations.”
The education room for families. Photo by Lily’ s Place.
Leading the Way
The success of Lily’ s Place has reached national fame as a center leading the way for treatment for NAS babies in the U. S. Word of its success has even reached the White House, resulting in a recent visit from First Lady Melania Trump. Crowder intends for the facility’ s education and awareness efforts to continue spreading throughout the nation.
Even though Lily’ s Place is located in Huntington, it is open to any baby born in West Virginia. While there are no plans for expansion into other counties in the Mountain State, others have
contacted Crowder about replicating the Lily’ s Place model, and a replication plan is available as a guide.
“ We are truly one of a kind,” says Crowder.“ I think we are showing that even though West Virginia has a drug epidemic on its hands, we are meeting the problem with supports and solutions. We are fighting back against this epidemic and trying to ensure that future generations learn a better way. We want to break that generational cycle of addiction. West Virginia is owning the problem and looking at what we can do to solve it. There are many programs in our state that are positive supports to those suffering from addiction. We are just one
ENGINEERING AND LAND SURVEYING SERVICES WITH A PERSONAL TOUCH
S & S Engineers, Inc. provides professional engineering and surveying services to municipalities, developers, architects and contractors throughout West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Virginia. S & S has the qualified professionals available to provide services throughout the duration of your project from the initial planning phases through construction completion.
501 Eagle Mountain Road • Charleston, WV •( 304) 342-7168 • www. s-s-eng. com of the many organizations working to heal our state.”
Fostering Happy Endings
Luke 12:27 says,“ Consider the lilies how they grow; they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of those.”
This verse is special to the founders of Lily’ s Place, who named the center after a special“ lily” one of them personally encountered.
“ We connect Lily’ s Place with the verse in the Bible— that God cares for the lilies of the field, and He will care for these babies,” says Crowder.
There are 20 full-time and part-time nurses and patient assistants and an administrative staff of four, including a social worker, at Lily’ s Place. Crowder believes they must increase their efforts to combat the epidemic of drug use and spread preventive awareness among families, caregivers and the community.
“ We will continue to serve our community until we are no longer needed, which is a day I hope to see,” she says.
Some days are tougher than others for the staff. They see sadness, pain and confusion, but there is also joy when a healthy baby goes home with a healthy family.
“ There may not always be the perfect healthy ending, but I believe because of what we are doing here, there are definitely more happy endings,” she says.“ We want these babies to have a strong start and successful future. For this to happen, we need to make sure the parents are getting what they need to be successful in their recovery and everyday life situations. None of this is easy, but we have a saying around here: we have to love them through it. By treating families with respect and as parents, not addicts, it lets them know someone cares and helps them succeed.” •
74
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE