Speakers Inspire Audience at Regional Conference on Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Naugatuck, CT, June 20, 2018 --(PR.com)-- The inaugural Speaking of NEC: Unplugged event, a
one-day regional conference focused on identifying practical solutions for reducing the devastating
effects of Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) on premature infants and their families took place on June 11,
2018 at the Courtyard by Marriott in Cromwell, Connecticut. Presented by The Morgan Leary Vaughan
Fund, the event drew more than 100 participants from the Northeast and beyond.

“The attendance was fantastic and it was very responsive to the quality of the speaker agenda that The
Morgan Leary Vaughan Fund assembled. The message was clear: NEC is not only a dreaded disease, but
also one that continues to attract clinical and research energy and expertise to combat. What a testament
to Morgan and all the other infants and families who have been caught up in the battle!” said Stephanie
McGuire, an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse at Connecticut Children's Medical Center's Newborn
Intensive Care Unit. “Thank you for providing a very unique educational program for professionals and
families alike.”

McGuire was commenting on her experience at the conference, which brought together relevant NEC
experts and influencers, including parents, to engage and learn from each other's experiences across the
full continuum of NEC, its impact on patients and their parents, the cost to the hospitals that treat it, and
the methods to improve both its short and long-term outcomes.

“Sharing our son Morgan's experience, our family's experience, has been an integral part of our
education, outreach, and research advocacy in NEC,” said Stephanie M. Vaughan, Co-founder and
President, Morgan's Fund. “Providing a platform for other parents to share their babies' and their
experiences at a live event, regardless of outcome, was a natural extension those efforts. And the response
has been tremendously positive.”

The event hosted more than 20 distinguished speakers including neonatologists, clinicians, and
researchers from Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Maria Fareri Children's Hospital, member of the
Westchester Medical Center Health Network, New York Medical College, The Children's Hospital of
Philadelphia, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of
Nursing, and Yale School of Medicine; executives and patient advocates from Caring Essentials
Collaborative, LLC, National Organization for Rare Disorders, NICU Helping Hands, Once Upon a
Preemie, Short Bowel Syndrome Foundation for Children of New England, Team Grayson, The New
York Milk Bank, The Tiny Miracles Foundation, and The Wonder Twins Fund; and parents from the
Northeast and beyond.

For a complete list of sessions and speakers, visit speakingofnec.org.

The Morgan Leary Vaughan Fund appreciates the support of Prolacta Bioscience, the Petit Family
Foundation, Speaking for Moms and Babies, Team Grayson, and ThriveRX for this important event.

About The Morgan Leary Vaughan Fund

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The Morgan Leary Vaughan Fund (Morgan's Fund) emerged from a need to establish a mechanism for:

· Disseminating credible and timely information about Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) to parents whose
infants are most at risk for developing NEC

· Raising the level of public awareness about NEC and the potentially devastating effects it can have on
infants and their families

· Advancing research to prevent, diagnose, treat, and ultimately, cure NEC.

Currently, it is headquartered in Naugatuck, Connecticut with a satellite office in Austin, Texas.

Background:

NEC is a rare disease that leads to necrosis (death) of the intestine. It is predominately due to prematurity
and its statistics are startling:

· NEC is the second leading cause of death in premature infants

· NEC affects about 9,000 of the 480,000 infants born preterm each year in the United States

· For very low birth weight babies, who weigh less than 3 lbs, the chance of developing NEC is
approximately 1 in 14

· All newborn infants born preterm or born with a low birth weight (less than 5.5 pounds) are at increased
risk for NEC. The smaller the infant or the more premature the delivery, the greater the risk.

(Sources: UC Davis Health System and NICHD.)

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Contact Information:
The Morgan Leary Vaughan Fund, Inc.
Stephanie M. Vaughan
203-768-9098
Contact via Email
www.morgansfund.org

Online Version of Press Release:

You can read the online version of this press release at: https://www.pr.com/press-release/757149

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