Labor of Love

In appreciation of Tom and Michele Vana’s transformational gift to advance care for area newborns, our Level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is named the Amy, Matthew and Jay Vana Neonatal Intensive Care Unit after the couple’s triplets.

The Vana’s close ties to Silver Cross date back more than three decades when Tom and Michele met in Silver Cross Hospital’s Emergency Department. Michele was working as a registered nurse and Tom worked as a paramedic for his family’s business—Kurtz Ambulance Service, and as a funeral director for Kurtz Memorial Chapel. They married in 1990 and tried for several years to start a family.

Tom and Michele were overjoyed when they learned they were expecting triplets. At the same time, they were anxious as this was considered a high-risk pregnancy and delivery requiring a level of care not available at nearby hospitals. Then just 29 weeks into her pregnancy, Michele went into premature labor delivering Amy, Jay and Matthew on Oct. 10, 1995. Each weighed approximately two pounds and required months of intensive care.

“This project is especially close to our hearts” said Michele. “Tom and I want to make sure that other parents don’t have to experience what we went through; the stress and anxiety of making the long trip back and forth to Chicago for months to be with their tiny, sick newborns every minute of every day for 9 weeks. Our investment along with that of many others, ensures that our children and grandchildren and families throughout Will County and beyond will have access to the very best neonatal care nearby.”