On Thursday, April 16, 2015, the nation’s first Universal Parenting Places were dedicated in Memphis with one located at Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women. These Universal Parenting Places (UPPs) are judgement-free zones where parents can receive professional counseling, information, and emotional support for family-related issues or concerns. The second location was dedicated at Knowledge Quest.
The dedication ceremony for these locations included site tours and performances from a variety of creative people and organizations from the Memphis community, including several of the nontraditional and diverse support programs that these centers will offer to local families.
The Universal Parenting Places’ vision is based on the writings and speeches of Robin Karr-Morse. Her “Parenting Institute” based in Oregon provides the founding vision and staff training components for the UPP project. According to their website, each UPP will use the latest findings from family therapy and neurobiology to provide solutions to concerns that affect the emotional and behavioral health of children.
Most parenting programs in the Memphis area are targeted specifically at high-risk or low-income parents. However, stress impacts families of all kinds. Because of this, both UPP facilities are open to all parents at no cost beginning Monday, April 20th.
About Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women
Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women is the only freestanding women’s hospital in Memphis and one of only a handful of such hospitals in the country. Opened in 2001, Baptist Women’s Hospital offers labor and delivery, gynecological surgery, a newborn intensive care unit, and the Comprehensive Breast Center and is a regional referral center for high-risk pregnancies, mammography diagnostics and urogynecology.
