The Marine Corps League’s local chapter of the Military Order of the Devil Dogs donated $500 today to the Phoebe Foundation in support of the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The money will go towards purchasing special amenities for babies in the NICU including mobiles, sound machines, baby swings and onesies.

“Supporting women and children’s hospitals is something the Military Order of the Devil Dogs has been doing each year on a national level. We are happy to be able to follow suit and donate funds in support of our local NICU,” said Ron Kirstatter, pound keeper, MGySgt Nicholas J. Retza Jr. Pound #360.  

Mandy Fagiano, child life specialist at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, received the donation on behalf of the NICU.  “We are so grateful for local organizations, like Devil Dogs, who donate to their local community hospital NICU. Every donation, large or small, goes a long way.”

Following the establishment of the Marine Corps League, the leadership of the League decided that the delegates assembling in convention needed some time during their deliberations to “blow off steam.” As a result, the Military Order of the Devil Dogs was organized and created in 1939, in Boston, Ma. and granted a charter as a subsidiary organization of the Marine Corps League on 19 March 1940. The term “Devil Dog” was given to the Marines during World War I when they engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand combat.

Phoebe Putney’s Women’s and Children’s services are a comprehensive program that covers the healthcare of women and children at every stage of life. Phoebe offers a state-of-the art labor and delivery units available in both Albany and Americus. At Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital a private wing, Just for Women, is dedicated to women’s health procedures. Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital also offers a state-of-the-art NICU that serves 22 counties in the region and is one of only six state designated perinatal centers.