FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
John Harlow
Freedom Calls Foundation
(973) 290-7886 / Mobile (917) 755-1801
Email: jharlow@freedomcalls.org
Mary Poole
Memorial Herman Baptist Hospital
Beaumont & Orange
(409) 212-6145 / Mobile (409) 291-3731
Email: Mary.poole@mhbh.org
MARINE ON THE FRONT LINES OF IRAQ PARTICIPATED IN BIRTH OF BABY AT BAPTIST BEAUMONT HOSPITAL IN EMOTIONAL VIDEO CONFERENCE OVER FREEDOM CALLS SATELLITE NETWORK
Thursday February 19, 2009, 11:00AM
Baptist Beaumont Hospital
3080 College St, Beaumont, TX
(409) 212-6145
Baby born Wednesday, follow up video-conference from Iraq on Thursday between parents and newborn baby boy.
Beaumont, TX. & Al Asad, Iraq – Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Baptist Beaumont Hospital and the Freedom Calls Foundation, which built a satellite network to keep families connected because there is no internet infrastructure in Iraq, Marine Lance Corporal Adam Rose stationed in Iraq was able to participate in the birth of child, from the front lines of Iraq all day yesterday.
LCpl. Rose coached his wife through the hours of labor and delivery right to his wife’s bedside and the couple marveled over the miracle of life at Baptist Beaumont Hospital in an enterprise class videoconference. Thursday morning, the three, (mom, dad and newborn) will spend some quality time together for the first day as a family.
According to the new mom, Teri "I'm so thankful that Baptist Beaumont Hospital stepped up to help us in our time of need; I thought I'd be having this baby alone. We never could have imagined that my husband could have been here for the birth when he is 9,000 miles away fighting a war. This means the world to me and my family."
Going forward, Freedom Calls has arranged for LCpl. Rose to see his wife and baby three times a month at their home via video conference. Home video conferencing is an available service to all military families and will come in handy to the couple who has been separated for many months.
"Baptist Beaumont Hospital greatly appreciates the work of the Freedom Calls Foundation and we are honored to take part in the very special moment. We believe the birth of a child to be a uniquely special and significant event in the lives of parents, and so we are delighted to make these arrangements so they may be together on this occasion. All of the staff and Administrators of Baptist Beaumont Hospital hope this videoconference will help provide these new parents with an additional boost of emotional and mental support," said Mary Poole of Baptist Beaumont Hospital.
John Harlow, Executive Director of the Freedom Calls Foundation, stated that "the foundation is transforming a long-standing family communication paradigm in time of war by enabling soldiers in the war zone to attend and participate in milestone family events like weddings, 1st communions and new births, etc. Soldiers may now keep their commitments to their families at the same time they keep their commitment to their country. The long-term vision of the Freedom Calls Foundation is that our war fighters will be able to come home from a day on the battlefield and spend virtual time with their families every night using state-of-the-art technology. The contribution of resources by community citizens like Memorial Herman Baptist Hospital enables the foundation to fulfill its mission."
The Rose family video conferences are being conducted over the satellite network that Freedom Calls has built in cooperation with the army and Marines to serves U.S. deployed military personnel and their families 24 hours per day free of charge. It is funded 100% by donations by the American public. The Foundation receives no financial support from the government or the military. Freedom Calls is the 2008 recipient of The Newman’s Own Award for the most innovative service that improves the lives of military families.
ABOUT FREEDOM CALLS FOUNDATION: The Freedom Calls Foundation is a 501(c)3 Public Charity which has built a satellite network dedicated to providing state of the art video conferencing, telephone and internet services to enable our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to keep in touch with their families and loved ones at home, free of charge. The Foundation provides services to more than 60,000 soldiers, Marines and airmen free of charge 24 hours per day, including more than 2,000 enterprise class video conferences from homes, hospitals and churches every month. The Army has requested that the foundation install 8 additional facilities in Iraq and 2 in Afghanistan in the coming months. The Foundation is authorized by the Secretary of the Army to provide communications services to the troops and their families and recently received a Commendation from the Army, a personal letter of appreciation from MAJ GEN Taguba and personal thanks from President Bush at the White House . The Freedom Calls Foundation is supported solely by donations of corporations and the American people on the foundation’s website www.freedomcalls.org
Freedom Calls is the 2008 recipient of The Newman’s Own Award for the most innovative charitable service in support of military families.
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