The Early Pregnancy Loss Association provides care kits to women who have suffered miscarriages. Courtesy | Facebook

Women diagnosed with miscarriages can now receive up to $500 in financial support for medical bills through the Early Pregnancy Loss Association and Hillsdale Hospital. 

“EPLA is so thrilled to finally launch our bill-pay program, which has been one of our goals since our founding in 2016,” President of the EPLA Board of Directors Maria Servold said. “We hope to help relieve the burden of local families suffering miscarriage as much as we can.”

The EPLA is a nonprofit organization founded by Emily Carrington in 2016 that seeks to support women experiencing miscarriage. Carrington, Servold, and others founded it after noticing women experiencing the same frustration they did with finding resources that support women grieving early pregnancy loss. 

“We started out by providing women with educational and physical resources,” Carrington said. “But the big vision in the end was to be able to help a woman pay her medical bills from her miscarriage.” 

Upon individual request, the EPLA freely provides both small and large miscarriage care kits to a woman experiencing early pregnancy loss. The small kits are meant for women who have already miscarried and include a journal, memory blanket, tea, lip balm, sympathy note, sanitary pads, memory bookmark, and more. The large kits are intended for women who are anticipating the miscarriage process and contain more toiletries in addition to the small care kit. 

“We have grown a lot since our founding,” Carrington said. “I think the time we had while we were working on the bill pay program was good to really develop the type of educational and physical resources we were handing out.” 

The EPLA partnered with Hillsdale Hospital to launch a bill-pay program that provides funding to women for miscarriage-related bills. Hillary Zimmerman, clinical nurse manager of obstetrics at Hillsdale Hospital, worked with the EPLA to establish the program. 

“Upon a patient experiencing a miscarriage, whether in the office, ER, or OB unit, the patient is given a miscarriage care kit provided by the EPLA,” Zimmerman said. “Within the care package the patient will find a card with instructions on this process, including a number for our billing department to call to see if they qualify for this funding after their bill has been processed through insurance.”

Women can apply for up to $500 in funds for miscarriage-related expenses. Once all insurance and other discounts are applied, Servold said the hospital will then cover up to this amount through a $10,000 donation fund set up through the EPLA. 

“Now we just want to continue raising awareness and make sure that people know this is available to grieving women,” Carrington said. 

The program works with Hillsdale Hospital and Hidden Meadows OB/GYN, a clinic affiliated with Hillsdale Hospital. 

“This bill-pay program is currently only approved through Hillsdale Hospital,” Servold said. “We’d love to be able to serve more families with financial assistance someday, but for now, it’s only local.” 

Zimmerman said she hopes this program will provide support to women as they experience the pain of pregnancy loss. 

“The last thing a family needs is a bill that comes in the mail to painfully remind them of their loss,” Zimmerman said. “This program hopes to lift some of that financial burden.”