MHP Hosts First Burial at Baby Remembrance Garden

Garden will serve as a memorial for families who experience an early loss

In May, Mercy Health Partners (Muskegon, MI) hosted the first memorial and burial ceremony at its newly dedicated Our Baby Remembrance Garden. The garden is the finishing piece of MHP’s Our Baby Remembered Program.

This program provides options to families who experience the early loss of a baby (also commonly referred to as a miscarriage). Through the program, mothers can choose to have the remains of their baby cremated and buried in a cremation vault onsite in the garden. From this point forward, a memorial and burial ceremony will be held at the garden each May.

“In the Catholic tradition life begins at conception. We felt the need to recognize that these families were losing a life—someone they had accepted and started planning for—and we wanted to offer a service that would treat the remains with dignity and respect,” said Jackie Stambaugh, Chaplain for MHP’s Pastoral Care Department. “We understand that not every person feels this way, but we also felt it was important to give mothers this option.”

In addition to the burial ceremony, a community memorial service was held at the garden for all families who have been touched by an early loss.

“We were not prepared for the emotion associated with these events. It was overwhelming,” explained Jan Kolkema, RN from MHP’s Special Delivery Birth Center. “We know we made an impact…we know we’ve done a good thing.”

Prior to the burial ceremony, a sculpture that was specially designed and created to adorn the area was installed. A plaque on the sculpture displays the lyrics of “Precious Child” a song written and performed by musician Karen Taylor-Good. This song has been very meaningful to the staff and families collaborating on this project. CDs of the song were given to the families who attended the burial service.

Other Trinity Health Ministry Organizations, including Battle Creek Health System and Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, offer similar programs. However, MHP’s is the only one with an onsite burial.

To learn more about MHP’s Our Baby Remembered Program, please contact Jackie Stambaugh (231) 672-3912 or Jan Kolkema (231) 672-6487.