Now This is What a Real Doctor Looks Like: Dr. Sean Daneshmand

Medical crisis’s are a time of great emotional, physical, and financial anguish. Medical professionals often overlook or ignore all the elements between  providing care and receiving payment.  But, not Dr. Sean Daneshmand, an obstetrician specializing in high-risk pregnancies.

CNN tell the story of  Veronica Pacheco who was put in a coma at 24 weeks pregnant because of a positive H1N1 test. Six weeks later, the fetus was in distress and had to be taken by emergency C-section. Noah Pacheco weighed less than three pounds when he went to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU.)

Premature babies, like Noah Pacheco, and sick babies often stay in the NICU for weeks to months. The NICU may be hours away from the parents’ home. This babies are too medically fragile to be brought home….yet, the mother is released from the hospital shortly after birth. The parent(s) then must face the traumatic financial and emotional stress of making frequent trips to the NICU. Life, albeit turned upside down, still goes on….the parent(s) still have work, other children, living expenses, etc… while trying to figure out how to spend as much time as possible with their premature infant in the NICU. The Pacheco’s needed help, and they found it through Dr. Daneshmand. 

Dr.  Sean Daneshmand knows first hand how traumatic birth complications can be for families. In 2004, his wife suffered from pregnancy complications that threatened her and her unborn child. The experience ultimately gave him insider perspective on what his high-risk pregnancy patients experience everyday.  The experience inspired him so much that he began to hand patients money out of his own pocket to help with the cost of having an infant in the NICU.

In 2009, Dr.  Sean Daneshmand started “Miracle Babies” to provide support for preemies in the NICU and their families. “I wanted to take some of the suffering that these women go through away from them so they can really focus on their baby.”- Dr.  Sean Daneshmand. The non-profit organization  has helped 80 families to the tune of $70,000 so far.  The organization provides financial assistance for things such as:

Co-pay assistance for medical equipment
Hospital grade breast pump rental assistance
Car bed for babies that are discharged under 5lbs
Prescription Medicines
Baby Supplies
Baby Clothing
Diapers
Cribs
Infant Car Seats
Strollers
Educational Toys
Children’s Books
Special Formula
Funeral/Mortuary Assistance
Groceries
Rent/Mortgage Assistance
Sibling Childcare
Lodging Assistance for Out-of-Town Family Members
Telephone/Cell Phone Payments
Utilities Assistance
Bus Passes
Gas Card
Car Payments
Car Repairs

The family in need can apply for assistance from Miracle Babies through the hospital social worker. The baby must be in the NICU for 2 weeks or more and the family must show financial need.  The organization has primarily helped families from Southern California (the organizations roots), but families as far away as Louisiana have been assisted by Miracle Babies. 

See here to give a time, money, or supply donation to the nonprofit Miracle Babies program.

I applaud Dr.  Sean Daneshmand for not just being an “everyday” doctor. He is going beyond just treating and expecting payment. He saw the circumstances and problems in between, and then made an effort to fix the problem.