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Healing and hope after heartbreak
December 12, 2022; 4:19 p.m.
Image by UT College of Nursing
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KNOXVILLE -- Jennifer Province Hong and Amy Province Neil, sisters and University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Nursing alumni, founded the Luke Hudson Neil Foundation with a dual mission – to bring awareness to infant loss and provide support to the college’s Precious Prints Project.
This October, in honor of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, the Luke Hudson Neil Foundation made a generous donation to the Precious Prints Project, which provides comfort to grieving families with a sterling silver pendant bearing the fingerprint of their child. Sadly, the Precious Prints Project holds a special place in the sisters’ hearts. Neil lost her son, Luke Hudson Neil, when he was born prematurely, and she became the recipient of a precious print charm.
The Precious Prints Project provides pendants free of charge to families and relies on donations to support its mission. To date, more than 1,300 pendants have been given to families impacted by the loss of a child.
The Luke Hudson Neil Foundation’s recent gift will cover the cost of every precious print distributed at The University of Tennessee Medical Center (UTMC), one of the college’s health care partners in Knoxville. Neil, a two-time College of Nursing alumna, is a nurse practitioner at UTMC and knows the pain of losing a child both personally and through caring for patients with cancer. “I am so proud and grateful for Luke’s foundation,” said Neil. “It has given our family the privilege to continue to honor Luke’s life while providing support to The Precious Prints Project”.
Lynne Miller, the project’s director, and a clinical instructor at the college, has seen precious prints expand to every major health system in Knox County and hopes to grow nationally. “The passion for this project is shared by the college, UTMC, and the Luke Hudson Neil Foundation,” said Miller. “This gift will have lasting impact for so many families that experience such a devastating loss”.
To learn more about the Precious Project, visit nursing.utk.edu.
To learn more about the Luke Hudson Neil Foundation, visit lukehudsonneil.org.
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