The Joseph Keane Fund: Stillbirth and Newborn Loss Support
The Joseph Keane Fund Perinatal Bereavement Program, founded by Jessica and Tim Keane, delivers evidence-based perinatal bereavement care at Yale New Haven Hospital—healing families and supporting healthcare teams through the trauma of an unexpected and life-changing loss of a baby. Since its inception, the Fund has supported more than 400 grieving families.
Our Story
On February 27, 2012, after a full-term pregnancy, Joseph Keane was delivered stillborn at Yale-New Haven Hospital. The couple was devastated. Thankfully, Jessica and Tim had a strong support network of family and friends and faith that saw them through their grief. Jessica knew that there were other grieving mothers and families that did not have the same level of emotional and financial support.
Jessica approached Yale New Haven Health’s Bridgeport Hospital, where her other two children were born, to explore the hospital’s needs in supporting families as they endure similar heart-breaking losses. The couple has worked with an ever-expanding team at the hospitals to design a program to transform perinatal bereavement care across Yale New Haven Health System with compassionate, standardized protocols that support both families and medical professionals.
What began as a conversation has evolved into a nationally recognized perinatal bereavement program that has supported hundreds of families and trained hundreds of healthcare professionals across Yale New Haven Health hospitals including Bridgeport Hospital, Greenwich Hospital, and Yale New Haven Hospital.
Excellence Through Innovation in Perinatal Loss Care at Yale
The Joseph Keane Fund has enabled Yale New Haven Health to pioneer a comprehensive approach to perinatal bereavement that sets the standard for compassionate care. Our health system has developed the Care Signature Clinical Pathway for Perinatal Loss—an evidence-based protocol embedded directly into Epic that ensures every family receives consistent, high-quality care regardless of which Yale New Haven Health hospital they visit or when tragedy strikes.
The Crisis: Families in Need
24,000 families experience stillbirth annually in the United States
The grief following perinatal loss is profound and long-lasting:
- 39% of mothers who experience stillbirth develop PTSD
- 3x higher risk of suicide attempts among grieving mothers
- 4x higher depression risk and 7x higher PTSD risk for bereaved mothers
- Increased risk of complicated grief, anxiety, and relationship stress
Healthcare professionals are also secondary victims, experiencing burnout, guilt, and secondary trauma when supporting families through perinatal bereavement without adequate training and protocols.
(Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Facts about Stillbirth." https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/stillbirth/data.html Gold KJ, et al. "Post-traumatic stress symptoms following stillbirth." BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2016. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4955602/ Huberty J, et al. "Experiences of mothers who were depressed during pregnancy and postpartum." Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2015. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26258870/)
Our Impact
✓ AWHONN Innovative Program Recognition - Designated by the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses as a nationally recognized model
✓ Published Research - Featured in peer-reviewed journals and Healthcare Brew for system-wide innovation in perinatal loss care
✓ Multi-Hospital Implementation - Standardized bereavement protocols across Yale New Haven Hospital, Bridgeport Hospital, Greenwich Hospital, and throughout Yale New Haven Health System
✓ Educational Excellence - 93% of lecture attendees immediately implemented learnings into clinical practice
✓ CME-Accredited Training - 8-part video series now embedded in Yale New Haven Health curriculum
✓ Provider Support - Over 400 physicians, nurses, social workers, and chaplains trained in compassionate perinatal bereavement care
✓ Family Impact - Over 400 families supported through stillbirth, neonatal death, and pregnancy loss
Your Donation Creates Lasting Change at Yale New Haven Health
Every contribution supports perinatal bereavement care across Yale New Haven Health hospitals:
- Memory boxes and bereavement supplies for families experiencing stillbirth and newborn loss.
- Training and professional development for healthcare teams across labor & delivery units
- Wellness initiatives for staff supporting bereaved families
- Funeral assistance for families facing financial hardship after stillbirth or neonatal death
- Standardized protocols ensuring equitable, compassionate care system-wide
Philanthropic support is essential to sustain and expand these life-changing perinatal bereavement programs. Academic medical centers operate on minimal margins.
Join Yale New Haven Health in Transforming Perinatal Loss Care
Your gift today ensures that every family facing stillbirth or newborn loss at Yale New Haven Hospital receives compassionate, evidence-based support—and that healthcare professionals have the training, resources, and wellness support they need to provide exceptional perinatal bereavement care. We thank you for your support!
Our Mission Video
Please enjoy The Joseph Keane Fund Perinatal Bereavement Program Mission Video!
