Thanks to FIRST 5, genetic counseling is provided to low-income families

Due to a generous grant from FIRST 5 Santa Clara County, VMC can offer genetic counseling to high-risk families in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Bill Campbell, a genetic counselor at VMC, recently supported the parents of a NICU

FIRST 5’s grant support makes care like this possible for babies in VMC’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. You can read more about this story, and see updates about our other programs, in our Fall 2013 Impact Report. baby born with the chromosome abnormality 4p minus, commonly called Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. Bill worked through an interpreter to provide support to the parents who were understandably worried and confused – they had never heard of their baby’s condition and had many questions about what it meant. Bill met regularly with the family and together they developed a plan to guide them through the testing and treatment options. Without this specialized support service, the family would have been completely unprepared to care for the unique needs of the baby.