Local health care leader joins March of Dimes to improve health of Northland babies

More than 7,200 babies will be born premature this year in Minnesota, and local health care leader Dr. Thomas Patnoe is working with the March of Dimes to change this.

Dr. Patnoe, president and chief medical officer for Essentia Health sites in northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin, knows the importance of the March of Dimes mission. As a health care leader, he has taken on the role of chairman of the 2012 March for Babies in Duluth to raise awareness and important funding to provide for babies born premature or with birth defects.

March for Babies, the March of Dimes’ largest fundraiser, helps fund lifesaving research and educational programs aimed at helping moms have healthy babies. Last year, the Duluth event raised more than $86,000 — this year, March for Babies chairman, Patnoe, hopes to bring in even more by focusing on new revenue and helping to raise awareness in the area.

“This campaign gives me a unique opportunity to help the Northland’s smallest citizens. As a physician and a father, I cannot think of a more important cause than our babies,” said Patnoe, who will be asking local businesses for their support in the coming months. “Each year, about 1,500 babies are born at Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center. One in 10 babies in Minnesota is born premature, and as a state, we can do better. It takes leaders in our community working together to ensure moms have healthy pregnancies.”

“We are excited to have Dr. Patnoe on board to help us at a local level,” said Kimberly Parmeter, Northland division director for the Minnesota March of Dimes Chapter. “Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center has the only Level III Newborn Intensive Care Unit in the region, and Dr. Patnoe’s passion for the cause and commitment to helping our babies will be a huge driving factor in the success of our event next year. We are grateful for the time and support he’s able to lend us.”

Online registration is now open at www.marchforbabies.org. Start a team with co-workers, family or friends. Registration by phone is also available at (218) 727-1318.

Last year, more than 350 people attended the event. The 2012 March for Babies is April 28 in Duluth.

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