The desire to give premature babies in East Tennessee the best chance for a healthy recovery resulted in the creation of a fun event in downtown Knoxville with entertainment, dancing and great food. The event, Hoopla at the Square Room, will benefit the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at The University of Tennessee Medical Center.

Childcare advocate Stacey Rivers created the event. Professionally, she holds a bachelor’s degree in child development and a master’s in early childhood care. Personally, Rivers is the aunt of a premature baby, Shelby Zoe Smith, who spent the first 100 days of her life in UT Medical Center’s NICU in 2006. That’s why Rivers created Hoopla at the Square Room, which will be held at The Square Room at Café 4 on Market Square 6:30 – 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, to further advance the capabilities provided in the specialized unit that cares for premature and critically ill babies.

“While I’ve worked for nearly 25 years to improve the quality of care for young children, that passion took on a whole new meaning for me after the premature birth of Shelby,” Rivers said. “Shelby received excellent care at UT Medical Center, but at the time there were no real private spaces for Shelby and her parents to bond. Since then, the medical center has added several private rooms for the babies, and it is crucial that newborns and their parents have a comforting, quality and private environment in which to foster relationships during the first few weeks and months of life. We’re creating Hoopla at the Square Room to help UT Medical Center build private rooms for all of the babies in its NICU and we encourage everyone to come enjoy the evening with us.”

UT Medical Center’s NICU, which cares for approximately 800 babies each year, has the only NICU in the region to offer private rooms for babies. The private rooms and their surroundings are intended to most closely replicate the mother’s womb and lead to quicker recovery for the babies. In 2010, the medical center will embark upon a fundraising campaign to convert the entire unit to private rooms. Hoopla at the Square Room is raising money for that effort.

“We’re so thankful to Stacey and her family for helping to organize this event on behalf of the health of babies throughout our region,” said Peggy Hotz, vice president of the Center for Women and Children’s Services at UT Medical Center. “Hoopla at the Square Room will be a lot of fun for people in our community to attend while benefitting a very special cause.”

Knoxville stores Me & Mommy-to-be, From Me to You and The Rabbit’s Foot are sponsoring Hoopla at the Square Room, which features entertainment by the popular Knoxville-based band The Vibraslaps. The event includes heavy hors d’oeuvres, drinks and refreshments. Tickets for Hoopla at the Square Room are $40 per person. A $100 donation includes two tickets for the event and additional on site recognition. Advance registration is required for the special recognition and is suggested for all, as space is limited. To register, call 865.305.6611 or email development@utmck.edu.  

Hoopla at the Square will feature basketball-themed décor, to help it tie in with another Knoxville event that ends a few hours prior to Hoopla. The high school basketball scrimmage event Hoops for Preemies, which was created in 2007 by Rivers’ brother and sister-in-law (and parents of niece Shelby), Seth and Millicent Smith, is 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7 at Webb School. The scrimmage games feature boys and girls teams from schools throughout East Tennessee and the event accepts donations for the NICU at UT Medical Center.