Gift of Hope Announces Baton Rouge Selection Committee

BATON ROUGE, La. - April 14, 2015 - PRLog -- Each spring, board certified reproductive endocrinologist Dr. John Storment of FertilityAnswers awards a free cycle of in vitro fertilization (IVF) to a lucky Louisiana couple struggling to have a baby through his program called Gift of Hope. Now, the program announces its 2015 Selection Committee, comprised of the following individuals:

Elizabeth Banna Dunn

Dunn has served as the Director of Sales at Baton Rouge Printing Company for 20 years. She and her husband Gary struggled with infertility for 3 years before deciding to undergo IVF. The couple later gave birth to twins, Caroline and Patrick through their first IVF procedure.

Karen Elkind-Hirsch, PhD

Dr. Elkind-Hirsch has been actively involved in basic science and clinical research for 30 years. She has published more than 100 articles on topics in reproductive medicine and endocrinology. She is the Scientific Director of Research, Woman’s Metabolic Health Clinic and Woman’s Health Research Department, Woman’s Hospital.

Colette Blanchard

Blanchard is a Nurse Practitioner (NP) at Associates in Women's Health in Baton Rouge. She has been a NP for 13 years and has worked as a nurse at Woman's Hospital for 29 years. She works with many infertile couples with irregular cycles.

Nell Patrick

Patrick is a retired nurse and hospital planner for Woman's Hospital. She has a vested interested in fertility issues since she underwent fertility treatment to help her conceive her first child. Since then, she has become an advocate and educator on recent infertility developments.

Created to ease the high costs, both financially and emotionally of IVF, the Gift of Hope program awards infertility treatments to one couple each year who demonstrates both financial and medical needs for the procedure. Donors include Dr. Storment, FertilityAnswers, and past donors. Since 2006, there have been 11 Louisiana couples chosen, seven of which conceived and four have been born as a result.

Applications are open to couples in Louisiana and the deadline to apply is April 27, 2015.  For more information on eligibility requirements or to download an application, visit FertilityAnswers.com

The FertilityAnswers Network is a Lafayette-based infertility health system with statewide reach.It is the largest network of fertility clinics in the state — serving more than two-thirds of Louisiana in over 40 parishes. It includes four separate, clinical offices with two state-of-the-art IVF laboratories serving a geographic area of more than 35,000 square miles. The FertilityAnswers Network has helped thousands of couples become parents, with more than 4,000 babies born.