Pro Golfers Welcome New Baby Into the World

Carol Toribio and her newborn baby girl, Adrianna Santana, received a welcome surprise from three professional golfers Tuesday afternoon, May 29.

Santana, the first baby born at Roger B. Hansen Center for Childbirth on Tuesday, was welcomed into the world by LPGA golfers Lisa Ferrero, Catriona Matthew and Jennifer Song.

"For me, it was a surprise," said Toribio, of Pleasantville. "It was beautiful, very special."

Santana is Toribio's second child. Her first, Shirley Toribio, is three years old.

The golfers are in town ahead of this weekend's , the 54-hole, $1.5 million purse tournament that bring 94 of the top 100 players in the Rolex Rankings to the Bay Course at the . The tournament will be contested at the Friday, June 1-Sunday, June 3.

"I have two young girls, so to be involved in something having to do with childbirth was a natural fit," said Matthew, whose children are ages three and five years old. "It's important to give back to the communities we visit."

"It's a great way to show our support," Song said. "We're interested in giving back and helping children. Wherever we go, we try to give back."

The golfers presented a gift basket to Toribio and Santana.

"The people come out and support our tournament, and we support them," Ferrero said. "It's fun to go out and see faces, and know we're doing it for a good cause. I went to the University of Texas, and I did a lot of volunteering. I try to do as much volunteering as possible because they think it's the coolest thing in the world to have a professional athlete around."

The golfers also took a tour of the medical center's (NICU), where physicians and staff members explained how they care for babies in that unit using equipment AtlantiCare has purchased using LPGA contributions over the years.This was seperate from the golfers' presentation to Toribio and Santana, who were not in the NICU.

Equipment purchased by AtlantiCare has included:

* GE Healthcare's BiliBlanket Plus High Output Phototherapy, which provides therapeutic light for the treatment of jaundice;

* a GE Healthcare Giraffe OmniBed, which provides critically ill infants a developmentally supportive healing environment;

* Guided Therapeutic's BiliCheck, a non-invasive bilirubin;

* Analyzer and BiliCal individual calibration tips, a handheld device that reduces the number of heel stick blood tests for infants; and

* technology and patient/family comfort items for the Cardiac Catheterization and Rhythm Center at the Heart Institute for AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center.